The German economy will experience a setback in the final quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 on account of the pandemic, but is set to pick up significant momentum again in spring of next year. “The upswing has been slightly delayed,” said Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann at the presentation of his institution’s current projections. According to these projections, gross domestic product will increase by 2.5% this year – less strongly than anticipated back in June – in light of the dip in growth. Over the next two years, calendar adjusted economic growth will then rebound to 4.2% and 3.2%, respectively. 

The Deutsche Bundesbank, together with 19 national central banks of the European System of Central Banks, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, complete EU-funded programme to support central banks and banking supervisory agencies in EU candidate countries and potential candidates from the Western Balkans.The aim of the programme was to further strengthen the institutional capacities of the final beneficiary institutions, notably by enhancing their analytical and policy tools and by transferring the best international and European standards into national practices.

The German financial system has functioned well during the pandemic; the extensive government measures have shielded the financial sector from losses. This is the conclusion reached by the Bundesbank in its Financial Stability Review 2021. At the presentation of the report, Bundesbank Vice-President Claudia Buch noted that, at the same time, vulnerabilities to adverse macroeconomic developments had built up continually, especially risks associated with real estate financing. “Now is the right time to take preventive action against future risks,” stressed Ms Buch.

What happens when the financial system isn’t so stable? And what does the Bundesbank do to safeguard financial stability? Find out in our video on the financial system.

The possible introduction of a digital euro has been the subject of intensive debate among specialists for some time now. The discussion has been slow to trickle down to consumers, however, as revealed by the findings of a representative study presented by the Bundesbank in its latest Monthly Report. 77% of participants surveyed in April 2021 had never heard of the digital euro.

Have you ever accidentally burnt banknotes in the microwave? It’s not as uncommon as you might think. What about an unhappy encounter with a shredder? Our experts can piece even the tiniest fragments back together. If more than half of the banknote is left over, the Bundesbank will replace it. In the final instalment of our video series with Silviana Ursu, we show you what happens with damaged cash.

We used the last summer days and flew with the drone over our premises - watch a few impression in the video above.