The President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, visited the Czech National Bank yesterday. The main topics of his informal meeting with CNB Governor Jiří Rusnok and other members of the Board were the view of the Czech economy from outside and the situation of the German economy. The future of the euro area and the banking union were also discussed.

The Bundesbank’s Research Centre has published a new research programme, offering a thematic overview of ongoing and planned research activities in the areas of monetary policy, financial stability and banking supervision.

Households’ real investment return recovered somewhat at the beginning of 2019, improving to a now only marginally negative rate of -0.1%. Viewed in isolation, historically low interest rates continued to depress income, but price gains in securities markets helped increase performance somewhat overall.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and Executive Board member Sabine Mauderer say that central banks do have a part to play in forging a more sustainable financial system. But speaking at a conference in Frankfurt am Main, they both warned against overburdening monetary policymakers with climate policy objectives.