Research and Research Data

The main purpose of research conducted by the Bundesbank is to develop and consolidate academic expertise in the fields of economics, banking and financial stability. This expertise is reflected in studies, which are published either as papers in leading specialist journals or as part of other analytical studies.

Research Centre

Discussion Papers
RDSC

Panel on Household Finances (PHF)
Research Centre

© Alexander Magerl

The employees of the Research Centre focus on economic research. In addition, economists of the Directorate General Banking and Financial Supervision, the Economics Department and the Financial Stability Department are also concerned with research-oriented work.

Research Centre
Rent or buy? How equity requirements for households influence decisions on home financing

© Robert Herhold/AdobeStock

Some households contribute only a small amount of equity when buying property financed by a loan. If they then default on the loan, lenders may incur losses. Should the problem affect a large number of lenders, this could potentially jeopardise financial stability. Minimum requirements for the own funds households need to provide can limit losses that may arise. However, this would mean that some households can no longer obtain loans in the desired amount. A Bundesbank study shows that a large proportion of the households interested in buying which would be affected by this are then willing to buy a cheaper property or to save more in order to buy at a later date. The impact on homeownership is therefore likely to be smaller in the medium than in the short term.

Rent or buy? How equity requirements for households influence decisions on home financing
Research Data and Service Centre (RDSC)

© Olaf Dziallas

The RDSC provides researchers access to selected microdata from the Bundesbank's data records for independent and non-commercial scientific research projects on basis of the legal requirements. The RDSC is the mediator between the Bundesbank’s wide range of different micro data in various departments and – on the other side – researchers or analysts. In connection with this, the RDSC is responsible for the methodological improvement, the access of and the comprehensive documentation of the high-quality microdata. It also offers additional consultancy and support services to existing and prospective data users and satisfies data protection requirements.

Research Data and Service Centre (RDSC)