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Payment services firm Wirecard filed for insolvency last month after admitting that €1.9 billion supposedly held in trustee accounts by overseas partners probably did not exist

Germany must toughen audit rules after Wirecard scandal

Germany must toughen its rules for auditing and accounting to prevent another billion-euro scam like the Wirecard scandal, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said in a newspaper interview published today.

Business • 27 Jul 20

Wirecard's implosion last week came years after the first allegations of fraud by some investors and journalists

New rules may be needed for payments after Wirecard

German regulators twice looked into tightening the supervision of collapsed payments firm Wirecard and discussed it with the German and European central banks but no action was taken, a person with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

Business • 30 Jun 20

A German court ruling in May raised questions about the Bundesbank's continued participation in the ECB's bond-buying programme

German government backs ECB bond-buying programme

The German government has backed a European Central Bank bond-buying stimulus programme in a row with the country's top court, according to a letter seen by AFP.

Business • 29 Jun 20

European Central Bank policymakers argued over the timing and size of their emergency stimulus programme this month

Reservations expressed over ECB's bond programme

"Some reservations" were expressed about the "precise timing and proposed scale" of the European Central Bank's expansion of its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme, according to minutes of its 3-4 June meeting.

Business • 25 Jun 20

The German economy shrunk by 2.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year, its steepest fall since 2009

Germany faces bleak economic outlook - Bundesbank

Germany's economy will suffer a severe contraction in the second quarter, despite an easing of the most crippling restrictions put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Bundesbank said in a monthly economy report.

Business • 18 May 20

Germany's Bundesbank has cut its GDP growth prediction for next year to 0.6%

Germany faces sluggish growth as consumers feel pinch

The German economy faces another sluggish year despite a likely rebound in exports as households see their spending power shrink, the country's central bank said today as it halved its growth forecast for 2020.

Business • 13 Dec 19

Sabine Lautenschlaeger will step down from the ECB on October 31

ECB board member's departure highlights split

The European Central Bank lost its third German board member to resignation over policy differences in a decade today.

Business • 26 Sep 19

The Ifo institute's headline business climate gauge climbed 0.3 points compared with August, to 94.6 points

German business confidence inches up in September

Confidence among German business leaders nudged slightly higher in September, a survey showed today, but expectations for the coming months darkened further.

Business • 24 Sep 19

The ECB yesterday cut interest rates deeper into negative territory

Germany not happy with ECB's latest moves

Mass-selling German newspaper Bild today accused European Central Bank President Mario Draghi of "sucking dry" the bank accounts of Germany's savers.

Business • 13 Sep 19

Bundesbank slashes German growth forecasts

The Bundesbank has slashed its growth projections for Germany, saying industrial groups in the euro zone's biggest economy would suffer from weak demand through the rest of the year.

Business • 07 Jun 19

The Bundesbank said the present boom should continue although the danger of a trade war is rising

German central bank slashes growth forecast for 2018

Germany's central bank said today it had sharply downgraded its economic growth forecast for this year but grew more optimistic for 2019.

Business • 15 Jun 18

The German economy ended last year on a strong footing despite political uncertainty

Foreign trade propels German fourth-quarter growth

Foreign trade drove a 0.6% expansion in Europe's largest economy between October and December, German data showed today.

Business • 23 Feb 18

Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann may be next ECB president

Germany's SPD to back Weidmann for ECB chief - reports

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) will support a decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives to back Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann to become the head of the European Central Bank, newspaper Die Zeit said.

Business • 21 Feb 18

The Bundesbank now sees calendar-adjusted GDP growth in the euro zone's biggest economy expanding by 2.5% next year

Bundesbank raises Germany's growth projections

Germany's central bank has raised growth projections, arguing that the economy will continue to enjoy an export-driven boom, even if its rate of expansion is likely to taper off as the business cycle matures.

Business • 15 Dec 17

Germany's Bundesbank said the 'order situation of industrial firms is excellent'

Industry continues driving German growth - Bundesbank

Growth in Germany likely held up at a high level in the third quarter, driven by superb industrial orders despite construction activity levelling off and private consumption dipping, the Bundesbank has said.

Business • 23 Oct 17

A separate gauge measuring investors' assessment of the economy's current conditions edged up to 86.7 from 86.4 last month

German investor morale falls in August

The mood among German investors worsened for the third consecutive month in August, according to a new survey.

Business • 22 Aug 17

With the euro zone economy now expanding for the 17th straight quarter, Germany has been the engine of recovery

German growth could top expectations this year

The German economy could grow faster this year than earlier expected on the back of exceptionally strong industrial production, exports and consumption, the Bundesbank said in a monthly report today.

Business • 21 Aug 17

Bunesbank predicts that German inflation could hit 2% in January due to higher energy prices

German inflation rate could reach 2% in January

German inflation could hit 2% in January due to higher energy prices, the Bundesbank said today, hitting the European Central Bank's elusive target for the first time in four years.

Business • 23 Jan 17

Germany's Bundesbank has downgraded its outlook for the euro zone's biggest economy after a slew of subdued data

German economy could slow in Q3, Bundesbank warns

German economic growth could slow in the third quarter, primarily due to weak manufacturing export demand, the Bundesbank said today.

Business • 19 Sep 16

The retirement age for Germans is already scheduled to rise gradually to 67 by 2030

Changes to German retirement age 'unavoidable'

Germany should consider raising the retirement age to 69 by 2060, from around 65 currently, or risk struggling to honour its pension commitments, the country’s central bank has said.

Business • 16 Aug 16

Germany's Bundesbank is currently pencilling in GDP growth of 1.7% for the whole of 2016

German economy to grow strongly despite Brexit

The German economy, Europe's biggest, will continue to expand strongly in the third quarter.

Business • 18 Jul 16

Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann says Germany in 'good shape'

German economy in good shape - Bundesbank chief

The German economy is "in good shape overall," the head of the Bundesbank said today, waving away suggestions that clouds could be building over Europe's biggest economy.

Business • 24 Feb 16

Bundesbank eyes growth of 1.7% for 2015, 1.8% in 2016 and 1.7% in 2017

Bundesbank raises 2017 German growth forecast

The German central bank, or Bundesbank, said today it was upgrading its economic growth forecast for 2017 and leaving its projections for 2015 and 2016 unchanged.

Business • 04 Dec 15

Bundesbank expects German GDP to expand by 1.7% in 2015 and by 1.8% in 2016

Bundesbank upgrades German growth forecasts

The German central bank, or Bundesbank, has upgraded its growth forecasts for this year and next year.

Business • 05 Jun 15

Bundesbank chief says new Greek government has gambled away a lot of trush

Greece sends list of reforms to EU and IMF

Greece has sent its creditors a long-awaited list of reforms with a pledge to produce a small budget surplus this year in the hope that it will unlock badly needed cash.

Business • 27 Mar 15