Archive of topic posts
In the following list you find chronologically listed articles.
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Consolidation in banking sector continues
31.03.2020 DE
The number of credit institutions and branches fell again in 2019 to 1,717 institutions.
“This shows that banks are actively responding to tough competition and changes in customer behaviour,”
said Bundesbank Executive Board member Joachim Wuermeling. -
BaFin reduces countercyclical capital buffer to 0%
30.03.2020 DE
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has issued a general administrative act regarding the domestic countercyclical buffer rate. The rate was lowered from 0.25% to 0% with effect from 1 April 2020.
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Purchase programmes affect Germany’s TARGET balance
27.03.2020 DE
Bundesbank economists have studied the factors that have influenced Germany’s TARGET balances over the past 20 years. The results show that the growth of the balances can be divided into four periods. The decline in German TARGET claims in 2018 and 2019 was due in large part to lower and, for a time, discontinued net asset purchases of the Eurosystem, write the Bundesbank’s experts.
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Corona pandemic causing German economy to slide into pronounced recession
23.03.2020 DE
Germany is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report. The experts regard a slide into a marked recession as being unavoidable. An economic recovery would set in only when the pandemic risk had been effectively brought under control.
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Germany’s current account surplus falls to €245½ billion in 2019
23.03.2020 DE
Germany’s current account surplus dropped by €2 billion to €245½ billion in 2019. As a percentage of German gross domestic product (GDP), the balance sank to 7¼ percent.
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Coronavirus crisis: ECB announces new asset purchase programme
19.03.2020 DE
Given the escalating diffusion of the coronavirus, the European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a new, temporary asset purchase programme. Under this programme, the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), the ECB will purchase a total of €750 billion worth of assets by the end of 2020.
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Statement on the countercyclical capital buffer by the German Financial Stability Committee
18.03.2020 DE
iven the anticipated need for credit in the real economy, BaFin intends to lower the countercyclical capital buffer from 0.25% to 0% as of 1 April 2020. This preventive measure will strengthen the German banking sector’s ability to lend.
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Cash poses no particular risk of infection for public
Bundesbank Executive Board member Johannes Beermann has indicated that the risk of picking up coronavirus via cash is extremely minimal. In a press briefing at the Bundesbank, Mr Beermann noted that “the probability of becoming ill from handling cash is smaller than from many other objects used in everyday life”.
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Weidmann welcomes coordinated central bank action to enhance the provision of US dollar liquidity
The European Central Bank and other major central banks have agreed on a coordinated action to safeguard the provision of credit institutions with cheap US dollar loans. This will serve as a liquidity backstop amidst the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen the supply of credit to households and enterprises. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann welcomed the coordinated action.
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ECB adopts additional programme to ease monetary policy
12.03.2020 DE
In light of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the ECB has announced new liquidity assistance measures to bolster the flow of credit to the economy. In this context, the ECB is focusing primarily on small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, the ECB will acquire €120 billion worth of securities until the end of the year in addition to the bond purchases that have already been planned. The key interest rates will remain unchanged.