The German banks responding to the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) once again tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises somewhat in the first quarter of 2021. Standards remained unchanged for loans to households for house purchase, and they were eased marginally for consumer credit and other lending to households.

Germany’s current account posted a surplus of €20.0 billion in July 2020, down €0.5 billion from the previous month’s level.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €28.2 billion in December 2020, up €6.9 billion from the previous month’s level. Although the goods account surplus decreased, the surplus in invisible current transactions – comprising the services account as well as primary and secondary income – increased to a much greater degree.

Despite significant price losses on the capital markets, the financial assets of households in Germany rose in 2011 to a total of €4,715 billion at year-end. At the same time, households’ debt increased slightly to around €1,550 billion. Non-financial corporations’ acquisition of financial assets grew by roughly €209 billion and thus surpassed the increase in their external financing, which amounted to just under €190 billion.

Germany’s outward immediate and indirect foreign direct investment (FDI) was up by €48 billion at the end of 2019 to €1,372 billion. The ranking of individual recipient countries remained broadly unchanged: almost 30%, or €391 billion worth, of all German FDI went to the United States, which was once again number one.