“This is one of the most important Spring Meetings,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at a press breakfast with Germany’s acting Federal Finance Minister Jörg Kukies on the occasion of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. “We know what we’ve got, and what we’ve had, with the IMF and the World Bank. Multilateralism is a core element of the global economic order.”

“Economic output in Germany is likely to have increased slightly in the first quarter of 2025, but could suffer a setback in the second quarter,” the Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report. Construction and industrial output, for instance, were up recently. Retail sales also continued to grow in January and February. However, according to the Bundesbank’s economists, the outlook for the second quarter is gloomy, not least given the US administration’s tariff policy.

Between 2021 and 2023, the average amount of wealth per household in Germany grew slightly in nominal terms, but declined in real terms, i.e. when adjusted for inflation. This is the finding of a Bundesbank study that regularly examines household wealth and finances. Nevertheless, net wealth remains at a higher level in both nominal and real terms than in 2017, when the Bundesbank carried out its last survey before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The better society is informed about financial topics, the better we, as central banks, can explain our monetary policy decisions,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at the opening of the Bundesbank’s euro pavilion. This converted event space at the Bundesbank’s Central Office in the heart of Frankfurt adds to the Bank’s existing outreach activities to engage and interact with interested members of the general public.