Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel is expecting to see a further decline in the use of banknotes and coins. Even so, cash is deeply embedded in our everyday lives because of its unique characteristics, he said in a video message at the Bundesbank’s cash symposium in Berlin. Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz stressed that cash still has a valid role to play even as payments become increasingly electronic.

German economic output is expected to rise again slightly in the second quarter of 2023, the Bundesbank writes in the May edition of its Monthly Report. Inflation, which is now broad-based and rather persistent, is increasingly leaving its mark on wage rises. There is much to suggest that firms will pass on part of the increased wage costs through their prices as the year progresses.

Congratulations! The European Central Bank (ECB) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It has now been the single monetary authority for the euro area for a quarter of a century. Following the Bundesbank’s model, the ECB is politically independent and pursues price stability as its primary objective.

“Central banks and supervisors also need to consider nature-related risks and biodiversity loss,” urged Sabine Mauderer, member of the Bundesbank’s Executive Board, in her opening speech at this year’s Bundesbank Spring Conference. “Because there will be no stable climate without a healthy natural world – and vice versa.” President Joachim Nagel used his welcome address at the “Central Banks and Climate Change” research conference to stress that “by pursuing price stability, the Eurosystem is supporting the green transition”.

9 May is Europe Day – an annual day of commemoration to celebrate unity and peace in Europe. On this day back in 1950, Robert Schuman set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, ultimately creating the European Union. “For me, Europe essentially means freedom, democracy and diversity,” said Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, honouring this anniversary. 

Household wealth in Germany increased between 2017 and 2021. For example, households’ average net wealth went up by €83,600 to €316,500 between those two years. In particular, households with low wealth saw strong growth relative to their existing wealth. This is the finding of a Bundesbank study regularly examining household wealth and finances (the Panel on Household Finances, or PHF). 

Climate change and the transition to a climate-neutral economy are also presenting banks with major challenges. On the one hand, extreme weather events can directly impair banks’ loan collateral if, for example, property is destroyed. On the other hand, the transition to a climate-neutral economy can have an indirect impact on banks if the underlying conditions for enterprises change substantially and sometimes unpredictably. Banks need to develop new methods in order to measure and manage the resulting risks. Supervisors will be keeping a close eye on the progress made by banks in this area over the next few years.

“The German economy beat last month’s expectations in the first quarter of 2023,” according to the Bundesbank’s latest Monthly Report. While persistently high inflation weighed on private consumption, industry saw a stronger recovery than expected. The Bundesbank is anticipating positive employment developments and a slight decline in the inflation rate in the coming months.

From 3 May to 10 September 2023, the Historical Museum Frankfurt, in cooperation with the Bundesbank’s Money Museum, will host the exhibition “Inflation 1923. War, Money, Trauma”. The exhibition explores the diverse consequences of the great devaluation in 1923. Through the media of artistic and literary testimonies, the exhibition showcases people’s experience with hyperinflation, taking Frankfurt as an example.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel believes that the ECB should continue to raise interest rates given high levels of inflation. “From a monetary policy perspective, there is still a way to go here,” he said at a joint press conference with Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington DC. However, he would not commit to any order of magnitude, Mr Nagel went on.