Monetary policy meets urban policy – this was the theme of a podium discussion with Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Sven Schulze, Mayor of Chemnitz, that took place as part of festivities celebrating “Chemnitz 2025”. The two answered questions from visitors and the moderator on the topics of inflation, the digital euro and economic growth.

Population developments are posing challenges for the German labour market and government finances. The scale of these challenges depends on how long people work and when they retire. This issue is addressed in the Bundesbank’s current Monthly Report. It analyses when people covered by the statutory pension insurance scheme (insurees) retire and discusses what might boost employment. The report also shows how reductions and increases for early or late retirement could be determined.

In March 2024, the ECB Governing Council approved changes to the Eurosystem’s operational framework for implementing monetary policy. The Bundesbank’s economists provide an overview of the adjustments and an outlook for the review of the technical design in 2026 in the current issue of the Monthly Report. 

The greenhouse gas emissions of the Bundesbank’s euro-denominated own portfolio (euro portfolio) and reserve assets have been in decline on aggregate over the past years, the Bank reports in its latest climate-related disclosures. In this report, the Bank looks in particular at the climate performance of its own financial investments. For the first time, the Bundesbank is also disclosing greenhouse gas metrics on its shares of the Eurosystem’s monetary policy holdings of corporate and covered bonds.

The Deutsche Bundesbank mourns the passing of Julia Dingwort-Nusseck. The former President of the Land Central Bank of Lower Saxony and the first woman on the Bundesbank’s Central Bank Council passed away on 7 June 2025 at the age of 103. 

Economic output in Germany was up in the first quarter of 2025, the Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report. Exports of goods, in particular, but probably also investment and private consumption increased. However, the Bundesbank economists expect the economy to more or less stagnate in the second quarter. This is due to the wide range of burdens that persist and the additional headwinds caused by the tightening of US tariff policy.

At a meeting of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel addressed the geopolitical challenges currently being faced. Speaking at a joint press conference with the new Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil in Banff, Canada, Mr Nagel said that while global economic activity had still been fairly robust at the start of the year, benefiting from the anticipatory effects of announced tariffs, the world economy was now struggling in the face of tightened US tariff policies and great uncertainty.

This year’s Bundesbank symposium “Banking supervision in dialogue” focused on geopolitical risks, artificial intelligence and streamlining bureaucracy. Bundesbank Executive Board member Michael Theurer believes it is important to have a nuanced debate on regulation in order to increase efficiency and reduce “red tape” without lowering standards. The industry meeting in Frankfurt was attended by around 450 supervisors and banking industry representatives.

Chemnitz is the European Capital of Culture 2025. To mark the occasion, the Regional Office in Saxony and Thuringia is organising a range of events at the Bundesbank’s Chemnitz branch. In addition to a coin exhibition and an art exhibition, there will be a panel discussion with Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkard Balz. 

“This is one of the most important Spring Meetings,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at a press breakfast with Germany’s acting Federal Finance Minister Jörg Kukies on the occasion of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. “We know what we’ve got, and what we’ve had, with the IMF and the World Bank. Multilateralism is a core element of the global economic order.”