Deutsche Bundesbank
Encyclopedia
The Deutsche Bundesbank (German
for German Federal Bank) is the central bank
of the Federal Republic of Germany
and as such part of the European System of Central Banks
(ESCB). Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank
(ECB) are located in Frankfurt am Main. It is sometimes referred to as "Buba" for Bundesbank.
The Bundesbank was established in 1957 and succeeded the Bank deutscher Länder
, which introduced the Deutsche Mark on 20 June 1948. Until the euro was physically introduced in 2002, the Deutsche Bundesbank was the central bank of the former Deutsche Mark ("German Mark", sometimes known in English as the "Deutschmark").
The Deutsche Bundesbank was the first central bank to be given full independence, leading this form of central bank to be referred to as the Bundesbank model, as opposed, for instance, to the New Zealand model, which has a goal (i.e. inflation target) set by the government.
The Bundesbank was greatly respected for its control of inflation through the second half of the 20th century. This made the German Mark one of the most respected currencies, and the Bundesbank gained substantial indirect influence in many European countries.
The history of the Bundesbank is inextricably linked with the history of the German currency after the Second World War. Following the total destruction after the war, the old Reichsmark was practically worthless, and a currency reform was implemented in the western occupation zones including West Berlin: on 21 June 1948, the D-Mark, or Deutsche Mark, replaced the Reichsmark. The currency reform was based on laws enacted by the Allied military government. In preparation, the Western Powers established a new two-tier central bank system in the occupied zones; in its federal structure, it was modeled on the Federal Reserve System of the USA. It comprised the central banks of the states (Länder) of the West German occupation zones and the Bank deutscher Länder in Frankfurt am Main, which was created on 1 March 1948. The central banks of the Länder acted as central banks within their areas of jurisdiction. The Bank deutscher Länder, whose share capital was held by the central banks of the Länder, was responsible for issuing bank notes, co-ordinating policy and various central tasks including management of foreign exchange. The supreme governing body of the two-tier central bank system was the Central Bank Council (Zentralbankrat) set up at the Bank deutscher Länder. It consisted of a president, the presidents of the central banks of the Länder and the president of the directorate (board) of the Bank deutscher Länder. Amongst other things, the Central Bank Council determined policy on bank rate and minimum reserve policy, open-market policy guidelines and granting of credit. After the negative experience with a central bank subject to government orders, the principle of an independent central bank was established. The Bank deutscher Länder was independent of German political bodies from the start, including the federal German government, which was active from September 1949. It achieved independence from the Allies in 1951.
" (constitution), which had come into force on 1949-05-23, placed an obligation on the German federal legislature to establish a federal bank responsible for the issue of bank notes and currency. The legislature fulfilled this obligation by passing the Bundesbank Act (BBankG) of 1957-07-26, which abolished the two-tier structure of the central bank system. The central banks of the Länder were now no longer independent note-issuing banks, but became regional headquarters of the Bundesbank, nevertheless retaining the title "state central bank" (Landeszentralbank).
The Central Bank Council remained the supreme decision-making body of the Bundesbank. It was now made up of the presidents of the central banks of the Länder and a board of directors based in Frankfurt am Main. The Central Bank Council decided on the currency and credit policy and laid down rules for management. As the central executive body of the Bundesbank, the Directorate (Direktorium) was responsible for implementing the decisions of the Central Bank Council. The Directorate ran the bank and was, in particular, responsible for dealings with the federal government and its "special assets" (Sondervermögen), for transactions with credit institutes operating in the Federal republic of Germany, for currency transactions, and foreign commercial transactions, and for open-market dealings. The Directorate was made up of the president and the vice-president of the Bundesbank and up to six additional members.
The central banks of the Länder carried out business falling in their areas independently. The Bundesbank Act explicitly made them responsible for dealings with public bodies and credit institutes. The central Banks of the Länder also controlled the subsidiary bodies (Zweiganstalten), now called branches (Filialen). Overall management of each Land central bank was in the hands of its executive board (Vorstand), which as a rule consisted of the president and the vice-president of the bank.
and the German Democratic Republic
signed a treaty on 18 May 1990, that created an economic, social and currency union between the two German nations; it came into force on 1 July 1990, and made the Deutsche Mark the sole legal tender in both German states. The Bundesbank was made responsible for money and currency policy within the whole of the currency union. A "Provisional Administration Body" was set up for the purpose of implementing the treaty, and this body continued to operate beyond the official date of reunification until 31 October 1990. The Bundesbank Act was amended to adjust the organizational structure of the Bundesbank to better match changed circumstances following German reunification, and at the same time streamline the organisation. The eleven central banks of the 'Länder
' and the Provisional Administrative Body were replaced by nine central banks of similar economic size.
that came into force on 1 November 1993 laid the foundation for the European Economic and Currency Union (EECU). National responsibility for monetary policy was transferred, at the Community level, to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), comprising the European Central bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of the EU states. Until the ECB became fully responsible for currency in 2001, the Bundesbank had three governing bodies. The Central Bank Council (Zentralbankrat) was the supreme body of the Bundesbank. It was made up of:
The Directorate was the executive body of the Bundesbank, while all currency policy decisions were made by the Central Bank Council.
Unlike other central banks such as the Bank of England
and the U.S. Federal Reserve (but like the ECB), the Bundesbank is not officially responsible for maintaining the stability of the financial system and is not a lender of last resort
.
Based on the Bundesbank Act and the ECB Statute, the Bundesbank has four areas of activity, which it mostly handles jointly with the ECB:
. It checks the cash delivered by banks and money transport companies, removes counterfeit money from circulation and hands it to the police. It changes D-Mark holdings still in circulation, without any time limit and replaces damaged or mutilated notes (National Analysis Centre for Counterfeit and Damaged Banknotes and Coins). It also issues information on the safety mechanisms for notes and coins and issues a weekly bulletin on the volume of cash in circulation.
ing system, the Bundesbank has two functions:
for the commercial banks. The commercial banks can use what are known as "refinancing instruments" to cover their needs for central bank money through the Bundesbank and the ECB. Until the end of 1998, the control of the money supply by this method was one of the main tasks of the Bundesbank. Since 1 January 1999, one of the principal aims of the ECB has been to maintain price stability by means of its monetary strategy. Commercial banks can deposit money that is temporarily surplus to requirements with the Bundesbank/ECB (known as a deposit facility).
The Bundesbank supports cross-border payments between domestic and foreign commercial banks, for instance by means of the German real time gross transfer system RTGSplus, TARGET
, and in future TARGET2.
organizations.
All such accounts are required to have a positive balance, i.e. the Bundesbank is not allowed to grant credits to the public sector. This is due to negative historical precedents in connection with the financing of two world wars by the Deutsche Reichsbank.
It also carries out securities transactions for the federal government (Bundesfinanzagentur).
s of gold reserves.
and the clearing of credit transfer.
All members of the executive board are appointed by the President of Germany
, normally for eight years, but at least for five years.
) and West Germany
(the "old" Federal Republic of Germany), there was a dispute over the rate of exchange for conversion of East German money to Deutschmarks. The Chancellor (Helmut Kohl) decided to ignore the advice of the Bundesbank, and chose an exchange rate of 1:1. The Bundesbank feared that this would be excessively inflationary as well as very significantly impairing the economic prospects of the area of the former East Germany. This dispute was particularly public because of the Bundesbank policy of communicating openly on such matters. Although public opinion normally supported the Bundesbank in matters of combating inflation, in this case Helmut Kohl prevailed, and the President of the Bundesbank, Pöhl, resigned. The Bundesbank had to use monetary measures to offset the inflationary effect.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for German Federal Bank) is the central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
of the Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and as such part of the European System of Central Banks
European System of Central Banks
The European System of Central Banks is composed of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of all 27 European Union Member States.-Functions:...
(ESCB). Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
(ECB) are located in Frankfurt am Main. It is sometimes referred to as "Buba" for Bundesbank.
The Bundesbank was established in 1957 and succeeded the Bank deutscher Länder
Bank deutscher Länder
The Bank deutscher Länder , abbreviation BdL, was the forerunner of the Deutsche Bundesbank. It was founded on 1 March 1948....
, which introduced the Deutsche Mark on 20 June 1948. Until the euro was physically introduced in 2002, the Deutsche Bundesbank was the central bank of the former Deutsche Mark ("German Mark", sometimes known in English as the "Deutschmark").
The Deutsche Bundesbank was the first central bank to be given full independence, leading this form of central bank to be referred to as the Bundesbank model, as opposed, for instance, to the New Zealand model, which has a goal (i.e. inflation target) set by the government.
The Bundesbank was greatly respected for its control of inflation through the second half of the 20th century. This made the German Mark one of the most respected currencies, and the Bundesbank gained substantial indirect influence in many European countries.
History of the Bundesbank as an organization
- For history of German central banks see ReichsbankReichsbankThe Reichsbank was the central bank of Germany from 1876 until 1945. It was founded on 1 January 1876 . The Reichsbank was a privately owned central bank of Prussia, under close control by the Reich government. Its first president was Hermann von Dechend...
1948–1957
1957–1990
The German "Basic LawBasic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...
" (constitution), which had come into force on 1949-05-23, placed an obligation on the German federal legislature to establish a federal bank responsible for the issue of bank notes and currency. The legislature fulfilled this obligation by passing the Bundesbank Act (BBankG) of 1957-07-26, which abolished the two-tier structure of the central bank system. The central banks of the Länder were now no longer independent note-issuing banks, but became regional headquarters of the Bundesbank, nevertheless retaining the title "state central bank" (Landeszentralbank).
The Central Bank Council remained the supreme decision-making body of the Bundesbank. It was now made up of the presidents of the central banks of the Länder and a board of directors based in Frankfurt am Main. The Central Bank Council decided on the currency and credit policy and laid down rules for management. As the central executive body of the Bundesbank, the Directorate (Direktorium) was responsible for implementing the decisions of the Central Bank Council. The Directorate ran the bank and was, in particular, responsible for dealings with the federal government and its "special assets" (Sondervermögen), for transactions with credit institutes operating in the Federal republic of Germany, for currency transactions, and foreign commercial transactions, and for open-market dealings. The Directorate was made up of the president and the vice-president of the Bundesbank and up to six additional members.
The central banks of the Länder carried out business falling in their areas independently. The Bundesbank Act explicitly made them responsible for dealings with public bodies and credit institutes. The central Banks of the Länder also controlled the subsidiary bodies (Zweiganstalten), now called branches (Filialen). Overall management of each Land central bank was in the hands of its executive board (Vorstand), which as a rule consisted of the president and the vice-president of the bank.
1990–1993
In the wake of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Federal Republic of GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
signed a treaty on 18 May 1990, that created an economic, social and currency union between the two German nations; it came into force on 1 July 1990, and made the Deutsche Mark the sole legal tender in both German states. The Bundesbank was made responsible for money and currency policy within the whole of the currency union. A "Provisional Administration Body" was set up for the purpose of implementing the treaty, and this body continued to operate beyond the official date of reunification until 31 October 1990. The Bundesbank Act was amended to adjust the organizational structure of the Bundesbank to better match changed circumstances following German reunification, and at the same time streamline the organisation. The eleven central banks of the 'Länder
Länder
Länder or Bundesländer may refer to:* States of Germany, the 16 federal subdivisions of Germany* States of Austria, the 9 federal subdivisions of Austria...
' and the Provisional Administrative Body were replaced by nine central banks of similar economic size.
1993–2001
The Maastricht TreatyMaastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
that came into force on 1 November 1993 laid the foundation for the European Economic and Currency Union (EECU). National responsibility for monetary policy was transferred, at the Community level, to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), comprising the European Central bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of the EU states. Until the ECB became fully responsible for currency in 2001, the Bundesbank had three governing bodies. The Central Bank Council (Zentralbankrat) was the supreme body of the Bundesbank. It was made up of:
- the Directorate, which comprised the president, the vice-president and six additional members. These eight people were nominated by the Federal Government (Bundesregierung)
- The nine presidents of the Landeszentralbanken. These were nominated by the Bundesrat.
The Directorate was the executive body of the Bundesbank, while all currency policy decisions were made by the Central Bank Council.
2001–present (2006)
In 2001 the ECB took over full control of currency. The Bundesbank Act was last amended in 2002 by the 7th Law Amending the Law on the Bundesbank of 30 April 2002, which gave the Bundesbank its current structure.The Bundesbank today
After the ECB took over responsibility for currency, the Bundesbank continued to exist. Its duties were redefined by the 7th Law amending the "Law on the German Bundesbank" of 30 April 2002.Duties
The duties of the Bundesbank are defined in Section 3 of the Bundesbank Act:- The Deutsche Bundesbank, being the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany, is an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It shall participate in the performance of the ESCB's tasks with the primary objective of maintaining price stability, and shall arrange for the execution of domestic and international payments. In addition, it shall discharge the duties assigned to it under this Act or other legislation
Unlike other central banks such as the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
and the U.S. Federal Reserve (but like the ECB), the Bundesbank is not officially responsible for maintaining the stability of the financial system and is not a lender of last resort
Lender of last resort
A lender of last resort is an institution willing to extend credit when no one else will. The term refers especially to a reserve financial institution, most often the central bank of a country, intended to avoid bankruptcy of banks or other institutions deemed systemically important or 'too big to...
.
Based on the Bundesbank Act and the ECB Statute, the Bundesbank has four areas of activity, which it mostly handles jointly with the ECB:
- the Bundesbank as a note-issuing bank
- the Bundesbank as the banks' banker (clearing house and bank supervision)
- the Bundesbank as the state's banker
- the Bundesbank as the manager of currency reserves
The Bundesbank as a note-issuing bank
As a note-issuing bank, the Bundesbank provides the economy with cash, and ensures the physical circulation of cashCash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
. It checks the cash delivered by banks and money transport companies, removes counterfeit money from circulation and hands it to the police. It changes D-Mark holdings still in circulation, without any time limit and replaces damaged or mutilated notes (National Analysis Centre for Counterfeit and Damaged Banknotes and Coins). It also issues information on the safety mechanisms for notes and coins and issues a weekly bulletin on the volume of cash in circulation.
The Bundesbank as the banks' banker
In relation to the commercial bankCommercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
ing system, the Bundesbank has two functions:
Clearing house for commercial banks
Firstly, the Bundesbank is a refinancing source and clearing houseClearing house (finance)
A clearing house is a financial institution that provides clearing and settlement services for financial and commodities derivatives and securities transactions...
for the commercial banks. The commercial banks can use what are known as "refinancing instruments" to cover their needs for central bank money through the Bundesbank and the ECB. Until the end of 1998, the control of the money supply by this method was one of the main tasks of the Bundesbank. Since 1 January 1999, one of the principal aims of the ECB has been to maintain price stability by means of its monetary strategy. Commercial banks can deposit money that is temporarily surplus to requirements with the Bundesbank/ECB (known as a deposit facility).
The Bundesbank supports cross-border payments between domestic and foreign commercial banks, for instance by means of the German real time gross transfer system RTGSplus, TARGET
TARGET
TARGET was an interbank payment system for the real-time processing of cross-border transfers throughout the European Union. It included 16 national real-time gross settlement systems and the ECB payment mechanism...
, and in future TARGET2.
Bank supervision
The bank also helps to regulate commercial banks, in close cooperation with the German financial regulatory agency the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin).The Bundesbank as the state's banker
As the state's banker, the Bundesbank provides accounts and performs normal banking services for federal, state (Land) and local authorities, as well as for the statutory social securitySocial security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
organizations.
All such accounts are required to have a positive balance, i.e. the Bundesbank is not allowed to grant credits to the public sector. This is due to negative historical precedents in connection with the financing of two world wars by the Deutsche Reichsbank.
It also carries out securities transactions for the federal government (Bundesfinanzagentur).
The Bundesbank as the keeper of the currency reserves
Currency reserves are all assets of the Bundesbank that are not specified in EUR, including gold reserves, securities in foreign currency, credit with foreign banks, foreign exchange, etc. Currency reserves can be invested for profit and also provide a possibility of intervening in the market if the exchange rate fluctuates strongly. The gold reserves of the Bundesbank are the second largest in the world (after the U.S Federal Reserve). As of late 2011, the Bundesbank has over 3,000 tonneTonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of gold reserves.
Structure
The Bundesbank has nine regional headquarters in the Länder, the former central banks of the Länder and 66 branches (Filiale). As of 30 June 2006, the Bundesbank had a total of 12,474 employees. By the end of 2007 the number of regional subsidiaries is to be reduced to 47. The regional subsidiaries are available to banks, public authorities and money transport enterprises for the provision of cashCash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
and the clearing of credit transfer.
Governance
The executive board (Vorstand) is the supreme governing body of the Bundesbank. It comprises:- the president, the vice president and one additional board member. These three people are put forward by the German government.
- Three additional members of the executive board; these are put forward by the Bundesrat.
All members of the executive board are appointed by the President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
, normally for eight years, but at least for five years.
Presidents of the predecessors of the German Bundesbank
- 1948–1957: Karl Bernard, Chairman of the Central Bank Council (Zentralbankrat) of the Bank deutscher Länder
- 1948–1957: Wilhelm Vocke, President of the Directorate of the Bank deutscher Länder, from 1 August 1957
Presidents of the German Bundesbank
- 1958–1969: Karl BlessingKarl BlessingDr. Karl Blessing was a German banker. It was proposed that he would have been the Minister of Economics or President of the Reichsbank if the 20 July plot to kill Adolf Hitler had succeeded...
- 1969–1977: Karl Klasen
- 1977–1979: Otmar Emminger
- 1980–1991: Karl Otto PöhlKarl Otto PöhlKarl Otto Pöhl is a German economist and a President of the Bundesbank and Chairman of its Central Bank Council from 1980 to 1991....
- 1991–1993: Helmut Schlesinger
- 1993–1999: Hans TietmeyerHans TietmeyerHans Tietmeyer is a German economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank from 1993 until 1999 and remains one of the most important figures in finance of the European Union....
- 1999–2004: Ernst Welteke
- 2004: Jürgen StarkJürgen StarkJürgen Stark is a German economist who has been a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from June 2006, but announced in September 2011 he would resign later that year...
, interim president - 2004–2011: Axel A. WeberAxel A. WeberAxel Alfred Weber is a German economist, professor and banker. He teaches at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is a board member and prospective chairman of UBS...
- Since 2011: Jens WeidmannJens WeidmannJens Weidmann is a German economist and president of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Before assuming the top Bundesbank position in 2011, from February 2006, he served as Head of Division IV in the Federal Chancellery...
Current Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank
The Bundesbank's decision-making body is the Executive Board. According to current regulations, it comprises the President, the Vice-President and four other members. , its membership is as follows:- Jens WeidmannJens WeidmannJens Weidmann is a German economist and president of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Before assuming the top Bundesbank position in 2011, from February 2006, he served as Head of Division IV in the Federal Chancellery...
(President) - Sabine Lautenschläger (Vice-President)
- Rudolf Böhmler
- Andreas DombretAndreas DombretAndreas Raymond Dombret is German-American banker. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank. He was the Vice-Chairman of Bank of America Global Investment Banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as Head of the German, Austrian and Swiss branches...
- Joachim Nagel
- Carl-Ludwig Thiele
Personnel reductions
, the Bundesbank employs a total of 9,689 full-time staff members which is expected to fall to 9000 by the end of 2012:Disputes between the Bundesbank and the government
The statutory independence of the central bank guaranteed by the Bundesbank Act does not ensure that there will be no disputes between the central bank and government.Dispute over currency union with East Germany
One particularly public dispute was in the lead-up to German re-unification. When a customs union was created between the former East Germany (German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
) and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(the "old" Federal Republic of Germany), there was a dispute over the rate of exchange for conversion of East German money to Deutschmarks. The Chancellor (Helmut Kohl) decided to ignore the advice of the Bundesbank, and chose an exchange rate of 1:1. The Bundesbank feared that this would be excessively inflationary as well as very significantly impairing the economic prospects of the area of the former East Germany. This dispute was particularly public because of the Bundesbank policy of communicating openly on such matters. Although public opinion normally supported the Bundesbank in matters of combating inflation, in this case Helmut Kohl prevailed, and the President of the Bundesbank, Pöhl, resigned. The Bundesbank had to use monetary measures to offset the inflationary effect.
The Bundesbank in the news
In 2004 the president of the Bundesbank, Ernst Welteke, resigned after the press published allegations that his hotel bills for a New Year celebration had been paid by a commercial bank and he was criticized for his handling of the affair. There were also some allegations that this was part of a political intrigue to remove Welteke from office because he opposed selling Bundesbank gold reserves, as desired by the government. After Pöhl (see above), Welteke was the second Bundesbank president to resign.Publications of the Bundesbank
The Bundesbank produces a number of regular publications and statistics (see Web site)Further reading
- Die Deutsche Bundesbank. Aufgabenfelder, Rechtlicher Rahmen, Geschichte, Selbstverlag der Deutschen Bundesbank: Frankfurt am Main, April 2006, ISBN 3-86558-151-X (PDF)