Around 1.4 million people celebrated the 25th anniversary of German reunification at a huge public festival from 2 to 4 October in Frankfurt. Thousands of people visited the exhibition organised by the Bundesbank and the City of Frankfurt to learn about German monetary union.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has warned against frantic activism given the low inflation rates in the euro area. The drastic drop in energy prices constitutes a "decent stimulus package", he said in an interview with the German news weekly Der Spiegel.

Bank lending to non-financial corporations has put in a slight recovery over the past two years. The latest edition of the Bundesbank's Monthly Report sees the improved economy as a key contributing factor.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has come out against the creation of a single deposit guarantee scheme in the euro area in the near future. He sees a risk that depositors will end up carrying the can for distressed banks in other European countries.

Persistently low interest rates are putting small and medium-sized credit institutions to the test, as shown by a survey of around 1,500 institutions conducted by BaFin and the Bundesbank. The banks now need to work on the profitability of their business models, said Bundesbank Executive Board member Andreas Dombret.

As part of celebrations in Frankfurt am Main marking the 25th anniversary of German reunification, numerous Frankfurt institutions and businesses are exhibiting works by Barbara Klemm. A historical photo by the artist from 1989 is displayed on the facade of the Bundesbank's Regional Office.

Economists from the University of Mannheim and the Bundesbank's Research Centre have found that rising equity prices cause greater net wealth inequality among euro-area house-holds. Property price increases, on the other hand, close the gap between rich and poor.

According to the Bundesbank, the German economy maintained its recent spell of fairly strong growth during the summer months. Writing in the September edition of the Monthly Report, the Bank's economists note that the pick-up in industrial activity is still taking some time to materialise, however.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann currently sees no need for monetary policy action. In an interview with the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, he also came out in favour of taking advantages of the opportunities presented by the current wave of migration.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann will become the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS). His three-year term of office will begin on 1 November. He is succeeding Christian Noyer, who will retire as governor of the Banque de France at the end of October.