Annual Report 2019
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Annual Report 2019 Members of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank Dr Jens Weidmann President of the Deutsche Bundesbank Professor Claudia Buch Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank Burkhard Balz Dr Johannes Beermann Dr Sabine Mauderer Professor Joachim Wuermeling We mourn the loss of the following members of our staff Klaus Peter Rarek 27 February 2019 Bernd Hagebusch 28 March 2019 Regina Elfes 6 May 2019 Lothar Schneider 23 May 2019 Klaus Scheffler 20 June 2019 Ina Kerstin Oosterhagen 13 July 2019 Bettina Andrees 7 August 2019 Heike Kirchner 11 August 2019 Michael Habbe 30 August 2019 Roland Happ 9 September 2019 Marco Schröder 18 September 2019 Johannes Christian Rank 23 September 2019 Bernard Bajon 3 October 2019 Jürgen Hugo Recktenwald 8 October 2019 Walter Müller 22 October 2019 Wilfried Seifert 19 November 2019 Ralf Gerhard Ebert 6 December 2019 Ines Gaudl 27 December 2019 We also remember the retired staff members of the Bank who passed away in 2019. We will honour their memory. DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 6 Deutsche Bundesbank Wilhelm-Epstein-Strasse 14 60431 Frankfurt am Main Germany Postfach 10 06 02 60006 Frankfurt am Main The Annual Report is published by the Deutsche Germany Bundesbank, Frankfurt am Main, by virtue of Section 18 of the Bundesbank Act. It is available Tel.: +49 (0)69 9566 3512 to interested parties free of charge. Email: www.bundesbank.de/kontakt This is a translation of the original German Internet: www.bundesbank.de language version, which is the sole authorita- tive text. Reproduction permitted only if source is stated. ISSN 0949-1090 (print edition) ISSN 1861-5694 (online edition) Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 7 Contents Bundesbank round-up .......................................................................................... 11 Chronology of economic and monetary policy measures ........................ 31 Annual accounts of the Deutsche Bundesbank for 2019 ......................... 41 Balance sheet of the Deutsche Bundesbank as at 31 December 2019 .......................... 42 Profit and loss account of the Deutsche Bundesbank for the year 2019 ....................... 44 Unqualified independent auditor’s report for statutory audits of annual financial statements ......................................................................................... 45 General information on the annual accounts ................................................................. 50 Notes on the individual balance sheet items .................................................................. 52 Assets ................................................................................................................................ 52 Liabilities ............................................................................................................................ 59 Notes on the profit and loss account............................................................................... 66 Annex .......................................................................................................................... 73 The Deutsche Bundesbank: key figures ............................................................................... 74 Branches of the Deutsche Bundesbank ................................................................................ 76 Staff of the Deutsche Bundesbank....................................................................................... 76 Offices held by members of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank .................... 77 Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 8 Boxes The significance of climate change for the Bundesbank’s tasks ................................. 22 Stablecoins .............................................................................................................. 26 Overview of the Deutsche Bundesbank‘s accounting policies ................................... 48 Tables Gold reserves by storage location ............................................................................ 53 Receivables from the IMF ......................................................................................... 53 Balances with banks and security investments, external loans and other external assets ............................................................................................... 54 Securities held for monetary policy purposes ........................................................... 56 Tangible and intangible fixed assets ......................................................................... 58 Provisions ................................................................................................................ 63 Revaluation accounts .............................................................................................. 64 Net interest income ................................................................................................. 67 Net result of financial operations, write-downs and risk provisions ........................... 68 Net income from fees and commissions .................................................................. 68 Staff costs ............................................................................................................... 70 Charts Aggregate output .................................................................................................... 13 Consumer prices (HICP)............................................................................................ 14 German households‘ share in total net wealth ......................................................... 16 The performance of credit institutions in Germany ................................................... 18 Price indices for housing in Germany ....................................................................... 19 Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 9 Abbreviations and symbols p Provisional r Revised e Estimated pe Partly estimated … Figure available at a later date . Figure unknown, not to be published or not meaningful 0 Less than 0.5 but more than nil – Nil Discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding. Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 10 Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 11 Bundesbank round-up Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 12 Bundesbank round-up Climate change and its relevance for the fi- A private sector initiative to launch a global dig- nancial sector, digitalisation and its impact on ital means of payment attracted a great deal of payments especially, the low interest rate en- public attention. What this shows is that dig- vironment and the associated risks, the danger ital change is increasingly leaving its mark on of economies increasingly isolating themselves the economy and the world of finance. At the and the consequences this has for economic same time, politicians must press ahead with growth – various fundamental changes have the decarbonisation of the economy. Climate gained importance for the Bundesbank over the action is one of the most pressing tasks facing last year as they have become more tangible. our society. New tariffs have weighed on global trade. On When tackling these challenges, a recurring top of that, the harsher tone that has long been question is how the conditions for monetary adopted in the trade dispute between the Unit- policy are changing and what contribution ed States and China has unsettled many market central banks themselves can make. Climate participants. This difficult international environ- change, for instance, does indeed impact on ment did not fail to leave its mark on economic various areas of our work. It is clear to me that activity in Germany and the euro area. The ECB the Bundesbank has a role to play in greening Governing Council responded to the somewhat the financial system. However, the Eurosystem’s weaker outlook for prices with a substantial primary aim remains safeguarding price stability. package of monetary policy measures designed to ease financing conditions. It is therefore clear On the following pages, I would like to go into that policy rates will remain very low for quite more detail about the issues and developments some time. At the same time, the focus is in- that shaped 2019 and, in this context, outline creasingly turning to the risks and side effects important work done by the Bundesbank. associated with an unusually accommodative monetary policy. Economic activity and The environment of persistently low interest price developments rates has contributed to a rise in cyclical risks within the German financial system over recent years. Bundesbank experts created the analyt- Last year showed how important openness is ical basis for the countercyclical capital buffer for economies. The ongoing international trade to be activated for the first time in Germany in conflicts clearly took a toll on the global econ- 2019. The objective is to increase the resilience omy. Over the summer, the dispute between of the German financial system. In addition, the United States and China actually escalated important progress was made last year on re- further. According to Bundesbank analyses, the forming banking regulation. Moreover, credit various measures that have since been imple- institutions and banking supervision had to pre- mented could lower the respective protago- pare for the possibility of the United Kingdom nists’ economic output by ½% and shave 1% leaving the European Union with no exit deal. Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2019 13 off world trade in the