The National Cash Forum, initiated by the Deutsche Bundesbank in February 2024, has launched a new website to serve as a neutral source of information on all aspects of cash.

At a speech in Luxembourg, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel touched on topics including the upcoming interest rate decision by the Governing Council of the ECB and the German economy, amongst other things. The German economy was also the topic of his recent interview with the Financial Times.

At the end of 2023, Germany’s net external assets totalled €2,964 billion, thus amounting to just over 70% of Germany’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP). Overall, both assets and liabilities vis-à-vis non-residents rose further in 2023.

Information on trials and experiments already conducted with the Trigger Solution as part of the Eurosystem exploratory work to test new technologies for the settlement of wholesale transactions in central bank money.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €22.6 billion in September 2024, up €5.5 billion on the previous month’s level. This was caused by the larger surplus in the goods account and especially by the shift to a surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

Speaking at the 34th European Banking Congress in Frankfurt am Main, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel stressed the need for a united Europe in order to meet the many challenges it faces. In a joint appeal with François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France, the pair highlighted the importance of strengthening Franco-German dialogue as a tool for European progress.