Monetary policy must be reliable, but policymakers must not overly restrict its flexibility, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at the 10th Bundesbank IAW Lecture in Tübingen. In his speech, Nagel addressed the ECB’s original monetary policy strategy, which has undergone significant reviews. The most notable of these was in 2021, when the ECB introduced a symmetric 2 % inflation target – treating both upward and downward deviations as equally undesirable.

As part of the Bundesbank Invited Speakers Series (BISS), Hiroshi Nakaso, Chairman of the Daiwa Institute of Research and former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, delivered a keynote speech at the Bundesbank’s Regional Office in Hesse. Under the title “Germany and Japan 2.0 – Addressing Common Challenges at a Global Inflection Point”, the event brought together perspectives on economic developments in two of the world’s largest industrial economies.

What does the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) among firms mean for the financial industry and financial supervision? How is the increasing digitalisation of payments affecting the financial industry? At BaFinTech, a two-day industry conference co-hosted by the Bundesbank and BaFin in Berlin, representatives of the two authorities discussed digital innovations and the associated risks and rewards with both the financial sector and experts from academia and industry.

The worsening energy crisis, a sharp economic slump and abruptly rising market interest rates could put the financial system in Germany under considerable pressure. “To ensure that potential stress is not amplified via the financial system, financial institutions must be sufficiently resilient on their own,” said Claudia Buch, Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, at the presentation of the 2022 Financial Stability Review. “Financial institutions should assess the impact of adverse scenarios. Given the high uncertainty, they should engage in prudent risk provisioning and exercise caution when distributing profits,” emphasised Bundesbank Executive Board member Joachim Wuermeling.

The monetary policy turnaround shaped the Bundesbank’s balance sheet last year. The profit and loss account for 2022 reported a distributable profit of zero. This result was achieved by tapping €1 billion worth of risk provisions. As in the previous years, no profit was transferred to the Federal budget. “The Bundesbank sustained exceptional financial burdens in 2022,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at the joint press conference with Executive Board member Joachim Wuermeling.

Europe should stay on course and remain an attractive place to work. And I think this generation here has a vital role to play in that, said Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel at the two-day international conference “Young Factor” held in Milan by the Osservatorio Permanente Giovani-Editori with the aim of improving financial literacy. Over 350 school pupils attended this year’s event to discuss financial literacy and the European Union with the governors of several Eurosystem central banks. 

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.