Germany’s foreign direct investment stocks at the end of 2024
At year-end 2024, Germany’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks in immediate held enterprises (immediate host economy, IHE) were up only marginally on the end of 2023 in net terms, rising from €1,727 billion to €1,750 billion. As in the previous years, equity capital accounted for the bulk of this, at €1,884 billion. German investors’ foreign credit positions reduced the direct investment stocks by €134 billion on balance, as claims of €428 billion were outweighed by liabilities of €562 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, households’ financial assets increased significantly, closing the year at €9,504 billion. This represents a rise of €148 billion on the previous quarter, with households increasing their assets by €78 billion and generating valuation gains of €70 billion.
General government debt in Germany increased by €144 billion in 2025 to €2.84 trillion. Central government debt, including its off-budget entities, grew by €107 billion.
Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €17.1 billion in January 2026, slightly down on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account increased, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, declined slightly more sharply.
The Bundesbank’s Executive Board has made a policy decision regarding the central bank’s future location: the Bundesbank is planning to buy a property in Frankfurt that will serve as the site of its Central Office. This decision was preceded by a cost-efficiency assessment conducted by the Bundesbank with external support.
As expected, the Deutsche Bundesbank further reduced its loss for the year in 2025. In view of a significant improvement in profitability, the loss for the year fell by more than one-half compared with 2024 to €8.6 billion.
The Bundesbank identified just under 68,000 counterfeit euro banknotes in German payments in 2025. This represented a 6.1 % decrease in counterfeit banknotes year on year.
The Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Commission have launched another EU-funded programme to further support central banks and banking supervisory agencies in EU candidate countries and potential candidates from the Western Balkans
26.02.2026
Press release
Deutsche Bundesbank and other institutions
The Deutsche Bundesbank, 19 national central banks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Central Bank (ECB), have today jointly launched Phase III of the EU-funded “Programme for Strengthening the Central Bank Capacities in the Western Balkans” with a view to the integration to the European System of Central Banks.
German banks tightened their credit standards for loans to enterprises in the fourth quarter of 2025 to an extent not seen since 2023. This is revealed by the Bundesbank's most recent round of the Bank Lending Survey. The banks pointed to the renewed rise in credit risk as the reason for this tightening.
