German banks tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises marginally in the second quarter 2022. In the case of loans to households for house purchase, the tightening of credit standards was stronger than at any other time since the introduction of the BLS. Credit standards for consumer credit and other lending were also tightened.

At the end of the first quarter of 2022, German households’ financial assets amounted to €7,558 billion. This was €36 billion lower than in the previous quarter. Households‘ financial situation thus fall for the first time in two years.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €2.5 billion in May 2022, down €6.4 billion on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account increased, this was outweighed by the sharp shift into a deficit for invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

Cash continues to be the most frequently used means of payment in Germany, although cashless payments are increasing their share. These are the findings of the Bundesbank’s sixth study on payment behaviour in Germany for 2021. Respondents used banknotes and coins to make a total of 58% of their payments for purchases of goods and services, compared with 74% in the Bundesbank’s last major study from 2017. The lower use of cash was mainly due to the increase in online purchases during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the basic rate of interest in pursuant to statutory requirements and publishes its current level in the Federal

Significant decline in number of credit institutions – further substantial number of branch closures Following reclassification of the former securities trading banks, decline in foreign branches; number of foreign subsidiaries down slightly.

In April 2022, Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €7.4 billion, down €11.3 billion on the previous month’s level. This was chiefly due to a decrease in the goods account surplus, but was also attributable to a somewhat lower surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.

The Bundesbank assumes that the economy will grow by 1.9% this year. “The economic recovery is therefore likely to continue, but at a much more subdued pace than projected last December,” according to the current edition of the experts’ semi-annual projection. The annual average inflation rate for 2022 is set to rise to 7.1%.

The German current account recorded a surplus of €18.8 billion in March 2022, down €2.3 billion on the previous month’s level.