“German economic output is likely to have declined considerably more sharply in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic than in the first quarter,” the Bundesbank explains in the latest edition of its Monthly Report. According to the Bundesbank, it can be assumed, however, that economic activity already bottomed out in April and that the economy has been recovering since then.

A new exhibition at the German Architecture Museum (DAM) is showcasing all the designs submitted for the Bundesbank’s new campus on the grounds of its Central Office in Frankfurt am Main. The opening ceremony saw Executive Board member Johannes Beermann award prizes for the best designs.

“The past becomes the future – the Bundesbank’s Central Office in Frankfurt am Main” takes a close look at the architecture of the building, setting it in historical context.

Germany’s net international investment position shrank by €90 billion in the first quarter of 2020 - its first drop in eight years. One factor in this decline was the slide in prices in global capital markets triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, net international investment position remained at a high level of €2.4 trillion.

The Bundesbank is about to become a hub for joint digital financial innovations developed by central banks from all over the world. Together, the French central bank and the Bundesbank will set up an innovation centre in Frankfurt am Main and Paris. Both banks are thus part of the Bank for International Settlements’ global “BIS Innovation Hub” network.

The Deutsche Mark, the symbol of German unity, became official legal tender in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) on 1 July 1990. Supplying the public with Deutsche Mark on time represented a huge logistical undertaking by Bundesbank staff.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) sees central banks as playing a key role in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. “Central banks reacted swiftly and forcefully, preventing firms and households from being further burdened by a financial collapse by stabilising the financial system and supporting credit flows,” said Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, at the report’s presentation. 

Today, the German Financial Stability Committee (G-FSC) presented its seventh report to the German Bundestag. The report shows that the committee focused primarily on the risk of underestimating credit risk, the low interest rate environment and real estate markets.

Banks have become more resilient since the global financial crisis and have stronger loss-absorbing capacity. Also, there are better options for dealing with banks in distress. These are the findings made by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in a consultation report on the evaluation of too-big-to-fail (TBTF) reforms. The report also identifies gaps that still need to be addressed.

Banking supervisors are reviewing their supervisory practices and measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Both the EBA stress test and the LSI stress test have been postponed, for example. More information can be found on the websites of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the ECB, the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).