Persistently low interest rates had various effects on financial investment in Germany in 2019. According to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, while households generally preferred low-risk and liquid forms of investment, a certain degree of searching for yield was evident among financial corporations.

“German economic output underwent a massive decline in the first quarter of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it,” the Bundesbank notes in the current issue of the Monthly Report. Since these measures were still in place in April and substantial restrictions are likely to persist in spite of an easing in some cases, the experts expect economic output in the second quarter to be significantly lower still.

According to preliminary calculations by the German Federal Statistical Office, German economic output fell by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2020. “This was the largest decline since the global financial and economic crisis in 2008/09 and the second-largest decline since German unification,” the experts in Berlin said.

The exchange rate statistics represent a collection of current and historical exchange rates for the euro and the US dollar in 192 countries. The Bundesbank provides additional data on topics such as exchange rate arrangements and monetary history for all of these countries.

According to Bundesbank Executive Board member Joachim Wuermeling, the situation is stable. “The current crisis shows that we, as supervisors, have learned the right lessons from the last crisis. Many of the measures, which, in some cases, came under sharp criticism, are now proving to be worth their weight in gold,” according to Mr Wuermeling.

“The coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have plunged the German economy into a severe recession,” according to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report. At present, it is all but impossible to tell with any degree of certainty how large the decline in overall economic activity will eventually be, the Monthly Report states

Der Rat der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) hat beschlossen, den Zeitrahmen für die Überprüfung der geldpolitischen Strategie auszuweiten. Der Termin für den Abschluss der Strategieüberprüfung wird daher von Ende 2020 auf Mitte 2021 verschoben.

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.

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.