Regulation of banks is essential to the stability of our financial system. But how appropriate is the time and effort for smaller, regional banks? In a guest article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Bundesbank Executive Board member Michael Theurer and BaFin President Mark Branson highlight the challenges facing small banks in Europe and call for a novel approach to reducing EU-wide regulatory requirements for small banks without jeopardising safety standards.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel has opened the “Nature and structure” art exhibition at the Bundesbank’s Chemnitz branch. This exhibition is one way in which Germany’s central bank is marking the 2025 year of culture, during which Chemnitz is the European Capital of Culture. Boasting some 40 works of modern and contemporary art from the Bundesbank’s collection, this exhibition will be open to the general public until 7 November.

According to the Federal Statistical Office’s flash estimate, seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.1 % in the second quarter, after still rising markedly in the previous two quarters. The Monthly Report states that after US tariffs were raised in April, industrial output and exports recorded a fall-off. While private consumption benefited from a sharp rise in wages, the labour market remained too weak to generate stronger momentum. The inflation rate fell distinctly in the second quarter.

Given the uncertainties in the markets at present, it is gratifying that institutions are well equipped overall, said Bundesbank Executive Board member Michael Theurer, commenting on the outcome of the latest stress test. The stress testing exercise was run by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB). It indicated that the euro area’s banking sector remains capable of enduring even under tougher economic conditions.