According to Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, central banks should beware of crowding out private payment solutions and should play a supportive role instead. Mr Weidmann pointed out that competition and regulation are essential for a good market outcome. As central banks provide the backbone of the payment system, they need to be at the cutting edge of technology, he explained. This, he emphasised to participants of a Bundesbank virtual conference, includes working on central bank digital currency.

Bundesbank Vice-President Claudia Buch has warned that an increase in insolvencies could jeopardise the stability of the financial system. “Banks have adequate buffers. Yet the banks and the public sector should be prepared for more negative developments and for an increase in the incidence of insolvency,” she said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

In its Monthly Report, the Bundesbank’s economists write that the German economy recovered rapidly in the third quarter from its slump in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, they are not expecting the catch-up momentum to continue into the final quarter of 2020 due to the resurgence of the pandemic. On the other hand, they do not expect economic output to slump to a similarly subdued level as in the second quarter, either.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has spoken out in favour of central banks taking adequate account in their risk management of climate-related financial risks that could arise from their monetary policy operations. He argues it is therefore legitimate to expect better information to be provided.