General government debt in Germany was down by €16 billion in 2019 to €2.053 trillion. The debt ratio – the ratio of debt to nominal gross domestic product – therefore fell to 59.8%, dropping below the Maastricht Treaty’s reference value of 60% for the first time since 2002. However, given the coronavirus pandemic and the associated costs, general government debt will rise again sharply in 2020.

The Bundesbank posted a profit of €5.8 billion for the 2019 financial year. Following adjustment of the reserves, the Bank also registered its highest distributable profit since 2008, at €5.9 billion, up from the previous year’s €2.4 billion. The Bundesbank has transferred the profit in full to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The Bundesbank registered approximately 55,200 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €3.3 million in 2019, representing a 5% decrease on the year. Statistically, this equates to seven counterfeit banknotes per 10,000 inhabitants.

The Deutsche Bundesbank and Deutsche Börse have presented the results of a concept study on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the area of collateral management. This study outlines that, in principle, DLT is capable of delivering further benefits in terms of the velocity and usability of collateral.

The financial assets of households in Germany came to €6,302 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2019.

In Germany, 32% of the holders of contactless debit cards such as girocard are now taking advantage of the opportunity to pay “on the go”. This is the outcome of a survey commis-sioned by the Bundesbank. “Contactless payment has thus become a fixture of daily life,” according to Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz.

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the basic rate of interest and publishes its current level in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger).

According to the Bundesbank’s latest projections, the German economy will gradually emerge from its current lull. They indicate that, although calendar-adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow by only around ½% next year, as it did this year, 2021 and 2022 could each see distinctly stronger growth of just under 1½%.

The German financial system remains vulnerable to adverse economic developments. Future credit risk could be underestimated and the recoverability of loan collateral such as real estate overestimated. “An unexpected economic downturn and abrupt rise in risk premia could hit Germany’s financial system hard,” Bundesbank Vice-President Claudia Buch explained, adding that a stable financial system should be able to cushion such shocks rather than amplifying them.