Households in Germany are expecting the rate of inflation to increase, according to findings from the Bundesbank Online Panel Households at the end of last year. Survey results from December 2020 indicate that individuals are expecting inflation to come to 3.1% on average over the next 12 months, which is the highest rate measured in 2020.

According to a statement made to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) news agency by the Executive Board member responsible for Cash, Johannes Beermann, over the course of 2021 the Bundesbank will begin issuing new €20 banknotes with a special coating that is designed to extend the lifespan of the banknotes.

The Bundesbank’s National Analysis Centre in Mainz receives around 30,000 requests every year for the replacement of damaged cash. In order to facilitate reconstruction in cases involving a large number of banknote fragments, the Bundesbank joined forces with the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (Fraunhofer IPK) to develop a digital system for reconstructing badly damaged euro banknotes based on “ePuzzler” technology.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann sees a need for monetary policy action stemming from the subdued medium-term inflation in the euro area. However, he also considers it crucial that the share of outstanding government bonds held by central banks does not become too large. “Otherwise, we would be running the risk of gaining a dominant market influence and smoothing out the differences in risk premia for government bonds,” Mr Weidmann said in a speech delivered virtually at the Humboldt University in Berlin.

In 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the profitability of German non-financial enterprises was in good shape. Overall, German enterprises earned an average of 4.3 cent on each euro of sales in 2019, the Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report. However, the coronavirus pandemic is likely to weigh heavily on corporate profitability this year and insolvencies are likely to increase.

Mounting borrowing at the European level could end up leaving national indicators such as the deficit and debt ratios less informative in the future, the Bundesbank warns in the current issue of its Monthly Report. This is why complete and transparent statistical reporting also needs to be ensured at the European level, the Bank’s experts argue.

The Bundesbank expects the German economy to grow strongly again after a limited setback in the final quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. According to current projections, real gross domestic product could pick up sharply in the following two years and reach its pre-crisis level again in early 2022. This is predicated on the pandemic containment measures being quickly loosened from spring 2021 and ultimately expiring altogether in the early months of 2022.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) used its meeting on 10 December 2020 to adopt a comprehensive package of monetary policy measures in response to the economic fallout from the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in the euro area.

According to Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, central banks should beware of crowding out private payment solutions and should play a supportive role instead. Mr Weidmann pointed out that competition and regulation are essential for a good market outcome. As central banks provide the backbone of the payment system, they need to be at the cutting edge of technology, he explained. This, he emphasised to participants of a Bundesbank virtual conference, includes working on central bank digital currency.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has spoken out in favour of central banks taking adequate account in their risk management of climate-related financial risks that could arise from their monetary policy operations. He argues it is therefore legitimate to expect better information to be provided.