The digital euro is not intended as a substitute for existing products, Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz underscored at a joint Bundesbank-Oesterreichische Nationalbank conference where experts and central bankers discussed the usefulness of the digital euro for everyday payments and the financial markets. They also addressed potential challenges associated with its introduction.

The German economy continues to be weak, according to the current issue of the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report. Output in the industrial sector and in construction got off to a sluggish start in the third quarter of 2024 and consumers are holding back on spending. From today’s perspective, real gross domestic product (GDP) could stagnate or decline again somewhat in the third quarter. However, the authors of the article are currently not expecting a recession in the sense of a significant, broad-based and persistent decline in economic output.

With the theme “Backstage Bundesbank”, the Bundesbank invited the public to its Frankfurt am Main premises for an Open Day last weekend. More than 11,000 visitors came to gain an insight into the tasks of Germany’s central bank.

German credit institutions’ performance improved significantly in 2023, according to the current issue of the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report. At €48.7 billion, aggregate profit for the financial year before tax increased considerably, up by nearly 80% on the year. All categories of banks posted higher profits for the 2023 financial year than they had done in 2022. This development was driven in large part by the significant increase in net interest income resulting from the Eurosystem’s key interest rate hikes.