The economic situation in Germany is charting a positive course. According to the current issue of the Monthly Report, industrial enterprises, in particular, have been benefiting from lively demand from within Germany and elsewhere.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors reaffirm their commitment to international economic and financial cooperation at their two-day meeting in Baden-Baden.

The finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries will be meeting in Baden-Baden on 17 and 18 March. Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann will report on the outcomes of the meeting at a press conference to be held afterwards.

Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret has indicated at the Bundesbank symposium on banking supervision that he is open to compromise on the revision of the international capital rules for banks. He added that it was not a question of reaching an agreement at any price, however – any compromise would have to be palatable to all.

Speaking in Frankfurt, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann underscored the importance of the G20 for international free trade and for progress in financial market regulation. In times like these, international cooperation is particularly important, he said, which is why the G20 is a "precious treasure".

The European Central Bank and the national central banks of the Eurosystem began rolling out a second series of euro banknotes in May 2013. The new €50 banknote will start circulating on 4 April 2017.

The Executive Board of the Bundesbank has adopted a new medium-term strategy, in which four universal strategic objectives for the Bank as a whole have been formulated for the first time. The strategy is preceded by a mission statement, which constitutes the longer-term roadmap for the Bundesbank and serves as a guide for its employees.

Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret has introduced the new head of the Bundesbank’s Representative Office in London. Before an audience of invited guests, Mr Dombret welcomed Olga Wittchen, who had previously worked as an expert in international banking regulation at the Bundesbank’s Central Office.

The Bundesbank posted a profit of €1 billion for the 2016 financial year, representing a year-on-year fall of €2.2 billion. Speaking at the press conference on the annual accounts, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann attributed this to higher risk provisioning. Distributable profit in 2016 amounted to €0.4 billion.

The German economy saw renewed stronger growth at the end of 2016. The brisker rate of expansion was driven primarily by exports and construction activity, according to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report, which also notes that the labour market improved again after a slight dip in summer.