Heike Mai

We look at the expected recession in the winter half-year 2022/23 and the onset of recovery, how inflation will peak, while the labor market loses momentum and private consumption is hit by the loss of purchasing power. Construction and Capex spending are set to deteriorate. Fiscal policy continues to lean against the headwinds but should normalize somewhat. Loan growth, both with corporates and private households, may slow substantially. In a medium-term perspective, we discuss risks for the manufacturing industry and Germany’s geopolitical and competitive position. [more]

On July 21, the ECB announced that it would raise the interest rate on the deposit facility from -0.5% to 0%, effective July 27. By the end of that very month, banks in Germany had reduced their stock of banknotes and coins by a record EUR 11 billion. There is much to suggest that they will continue to reduce their non-interest-bearing cash holdings, as the ECB interest rate will rise further to 0.75% in mid-September. [more]

Stablecoins and the DeFi ecosystem have taken a hard hit recently. However, the current stress for cryptos caused by tighter monetary policy may reveal which services offer real value for customers. In fact, leading collateral-backed stablecoins have weathered the storm quite well. The ecosystem will probably face further losses but emerge consolidated and well positioned for continued growth. [more]

In this edition of Focus Germany we look at the cyclical, short-term challenges brought about by the Ukraine war with regard to growth, inflation and public finances. We also analyse the more structural longer-term challenges, such as reducing the countries’ energy dependence on Russia and the governing coalition’s efforts to integrate new priorities precipitated by the historic watershed into its already very ambitious agenda. [more]

In 2021, stablecoins’ market capitalization increased multifold to USD 170 bn. More importantly, they are the most traded coins in the entire crypto space and crucial for decentralized finance (DeFi). In the future, stablecoins could also gain traction in the real world – adding to the competition in the fields of retail and corporate payments. Stablecoins differ considerably in their price stabilization mechanisms and can pose risks, which have come into the spotlight of regulators. [more]

Over 101 billion non-cash payments were made in the euro area in 2020, a meagre increase of 3.7%, which mainly reflects a slump in growth of card payments. However, depending on the country and on the payment situation, there were different trends during the pandemic. At the till, payment habits are converging towards card use. In online shopping, national differences (card or e-payment solution) seem to become more pronounced. [more]

The introduction of a digital euro is drawing closer: as a digital version of cash it is primarily intended to be a means of payment rather than an instrument for investment. The ECB wants to strengthen Europe’s sovereignty in the world of payments as well as the euro’s competitive position vis-à-vis other currencies. However, this will only be achieved if the digital euro is used widely, which is not very likely. A limit is expected on how much users can hold, to prevent a massive outflow of bank deposits into digital central bank money. In this case, lending decisions and money creation would eventually shift to the ECB. Europe would face the question which type of monetary and financial system it wants. [more]

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a surge in public debt and highlights the need to tackle sovereign risk on bank balance sheets, which remains a threat to the stability of the Banking Union. Euro-area banks hold bonds and have granted loans to their domestic sovereigns worth a combined EUR 2.1 tr, equalling 6.2% of total assets. Among the largest countries, banks in Italy have the highest exposure relative to capital (194%), followed by Spain (105%), whereas it is much lower in Germany (67%) and France (60%). Sovereign risk must be mitigated to finalise the Banking Union but this will require some honest acknowledgements by supervisors and entail restrictions for banks and politicians. [more]

Governments in many countries are facing growing funding needs as they implement large fiscal stimulus packages to counter the severe economic downturn caused by the corona pandemic. Besides central banks, banks are financing more than half of the rising expenditures, which is affecting the composition of their balance sheets. [more]

German households saved surprisingly little money during Q1; their bank deposits were only up by EUR 5.8 bn. In the lockdown month of March, deposits even declined by EUR 11.1 bn, as households withdrew a lot of cash due to the uncertain situation. During the current quarter, however, households will probably build up deposits substantially in order to prepare for potential income losses. By contrast, retail loans continued to increase strongly in Q1 and may cool down only in the medium term. [more]

Cash was in high demand throughout Europe at the start of the coronavirus crisis. In March, euro circulation skyrocketed by EUR 36 bn month on month. Nearly half of that volume consisted of smaller banknotes, which people use to pay for their everyday purchases. In Germany, however, consumers have increasingly been using contactless payments rather than cash since March as they wish to protect themselves against infection and because the retail sector requests that they avoid cash. Contactless card payments may have replaced a certain share of cash payments permanently even though not all customers who prefer cash will change their payment behaviour. [more]

We identify the impact of negative rates on household portfolios in Germany. Real returns on cash and deposits stood at -1.2% in Q1 2019. Due to that, Germans lost around EUR 150 in real terms in 2019 per person, compared to the 1991-2014 average. The aggregate loss including claims on insurance for a representative household was roughly EUR 540 per year. The richest 10% of Germans hold 60% of the financial wealth and probably have significantly higher losses. In 2019, net lending to private households in Germany reached a new record of EUR 59.5 bn (+4.8% yoy). Mortgages saw a record increase of EUR 53 bn (5.3% yoy). Deposits rose by EUR 41.1 bn in the seasonally strong final quarter. In 2020, mortgage growth is likely to slump, even stagnate. The corona virus pandemic will probably lead to a reduction in household income and possibly to bottlenecks in the issuance of building permits. [more]