Tables

Abbreviations and symbols

.           Figure not meaningful

0          Less than 0.5 but more than nil

-           Nil

Discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding. 

Frankfurt am Main, 11 February 2025

DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK
Executive Board

Dr Joachim Nagel     Dr Sabine Mauderer

Burkhard Balz     Dr Fritzi Köhler-Geib     Lutz Lienenkämper     Michael Theurer

Sections 26 and 27 of the Bundesbank Act (Gesetz über die Deutsche Bundesbank) form the legal basis for the annual accounts and distribution of profit. According to the provisions on accounting laid down in Section 26(2) sentence 2 of the Bundesbank Act, the annual accounts shall be drawn up with due regard to the tasks of the Deutsche Bundesbank, in particular those deriving from its being an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), and shall be published with appropriate notes thereon. Consistent with this, the Bundesbank is allowed to apply the ECB’s accounting policies.

The Governing Council of the ECB adopted policies for the ECB’s annual accounts in accordance with Article 26.2 of the Statute of the ESCB. The Bundesbank decided to adopt these policies as its own accounting policies. 1   An overview of the Deutsche Bundesbank’s accounting policies can be found in the above supplementary information. The annual accounts of the Bundesbank thus follow the harmonised accounting and financial reporting rules of Eurosystem operations, both in terms of the structure of the balance sheet and the profit and loss account, and with regard to the valuation and accounting policies applied. The accounting policies, which were updated in December 2024 to bring them into line with the amendments within the Eurosystem, contain improvements in the reporting of various balance sheet and profit and loss account items. On the balance sheet, these notably concern the “Accumulated loss” item, which is reportable effective immediately on the liabilities side of the balance sheet as well as the subdivision of liability item 12 “Provisions” into the liability sub-items 12.1 “Provision for general risk” and 12.2 “Other provisions”. In addition, the Bundesbank’s TARGET balance vis-à-vis the ECB is now reported in a separate sub-item on the balance sheet (asset sub-item 9.3 “Claims related to TARGET” or liability sub-item 9.1 “Liabilities related to TARGET”) rather than collectively with other claims and liabilities as hitherto in the sub-item “Other claims within the Eurosystem (net)” or “Other liabilities within the Eurosystem (net)”. In the profit and loss account, the “Transfers to/from provision for general risk” item, which was previously a sub-item of item 2 “Net result of financial operations and write-downs”, is now reported separately as profit and loss item 12. Furthermore, the “Net result of pooling monetary income” item has been moved to a higher position within the profit and loss account (from item 5 to item 3). The sub-items of profit and loss item 4 “Net income from fees and commissions” are no longer reported. The figures for the previous year have been adjusted to reflect the new reporting format. Because the TARGET balance is reported separately under asset sub-item 9.3 “Claims related to TARGET”, the other assets and liabilities within the Eurosystem are reported in net terms under liability sub-item 9.3 “Other liabilities within the Eurosystem (net)”, which results in higher total assets for the previous year.

The Bundesbank is furthermore required, pursuant to Section 26(4) sentence 1 of the Bundesbank Act, to prepare a cost account to assist it in its management and administrative tasks. In compliance with this legislation, the Bank draws up a standard cost account and an investment plan before the start of each financial year. The harmonised Eurosystem accounting policies for internal accounting adopted by the Governing Council of the ECB and compiled in the Committee on Controlling (COMCO) manual are also taken into account in this regard. At the end of the financial year, the Bank makes a comparative analysis of the budgeted figures and the actual costs and investment. This analysis is reviewed separately by the external auditors.

Pursuant to Section 253 of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch), provisions for post-employment benefit obligations must be discounted at the average market rate corresponding to their residual maturity calculated over the past ten financial years (see liability sub-item 12.2 “Other provisions”). The relief resulting from application of the ten-year rather than the seven-year observation period must be calculated annually and may not be distributed. In accordance with Section 253(6) sentence 2 of the Commercial Code, the distribution of profits shall be restricted to the part that exceeds the amount for which distribution is restricted less any disposable reserves. However, the Bundesbank does not have any such reserves. The amount for which distribution is restricted itself has to be treated as reserves, and transfers to them and withdrawals from them are taken to profit and loss once the profit or loss for the year has been determined as part of the appropriation of profit (see liability item 14 “Capital and reserves” and profit and loss item 13 “Allocation to/withdrawal from reserves”).

The ECB and the national central banks of the euro area countries, which together comprise the Eurosystem, issue banknotes denominated in euro. The following allocation procedure 2 was approved for recognition of the euro banknotes in circulation in the financial statements of the individual central banks of the Eurosystem. The respective share of the total value of euro banknotes in circulation due to each central bank in the Eurosystem is calculated on the last business day of each month in accordance with the key for allocating euro banknotes. The ECB is allocated an 8 % share of the total value of the euro banknotes in circulation, whereas the remaining 92 % is allocated to the national central banks in proportion to their respective paid-up shares in the capital of the ECB. As at 31 December 2024, the Bundesbank had a 26.6 % share in the fully paid-up capital of the ECB and, therefore, a 24.5 % share of the euro banknotes in circulation in accordance with the banknote allocation key. The value of the Bundesbank’s share in the total amount of euro banknotes issued by the Eurosystem is shown in item 1 “Banknotes in circulation” on the liabilities side of the balance sheet.

The difference between the value of the euro banknotes allocated to each central bank of the Eurosystem in accordance with the banknote allocation key and the value of the euro banknotes that the central bank actually puts into circulation gives rise to remunerated intra-Eurosystem balances. 3 If the value of the euro banknotes actually issued is greater than the value according to the banknote allocation key, the difference is recorded on the balance sheet as an intra-Eurosystem liability in liability sub-item 9.2 “Net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem”. If the value of the euro banknotes actually issued is less than the value according to the banknote allocation key, the difference is recorded in asset sub-item 9.4 “Net claims related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem”. These balances are remunerated at the respective rate on the main refinancing operations.

In the year of the cash changeover and in the following five years, the intra-Eurosystem balances arising from the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem are adjusted in order to avoid significant changes in national central banks’ relative income positions as compared to previous years. The adjustments are based on the difference between the average value of the banknotes that each national central bank had in circulation in the reference period and the average value of the banknotes that would have been allocated to each of them during that period in accordance with the ECB’s capital key. The adjustments are reduced in annual increments until the first day of the sixth year after the cash changeover year. Thereafter, income from euro banknotes in circulation is allocated fully in proportion to the national central banks’ paid-up shares in the ECB’s capital. 

The adjustment in the reporting year resulted from the accession of the Croatian National Bank with effect from 1 January 2023. This will expire accordingly with effect from 31 December 2028. The interest income and expense arising from the remuneration of the intra-Eurosystem balances is cleared through the accounts of the ECB and disclosed under item 1 “Net interest income” of the Bundesbank’s profit and loss account.

The ECB’s income from the 8 % share of the euro banknotes in circulation as well as from securities purchased by the ECB as part of the securities markets programme (SMP), the third covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3), the asset-backed securities purchase programme (ABSPP) and the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) as well as the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) is distributed to the national central banks of the Eurosystem as interim profit in the same financial year in which the income arises, unless the ECB’s net profit is less than this income or the Governing Council of the ECB decides to retain the amount for allocation to the ECB risk provision. 4 No interim profit was distributed for financial year 2024 as the ECB is reporting a loss, as in the previous year. The ECB losses are not reflected in the Bundesbank’s annual accounts for 2024, but are carried forward on the ECB’s balance sheet. That loss carryforward will, however, place a (pro rata) burden on future annual results of the Bundesbank because ECB profit distributions will not be made or because losses incurred by the ECB will be assumed by the national central banks in future periods (subject to a decision taken by the ECB Governing Council pursuant to Article 33.2 of the Statute of the ESCB).

The provisions laid down under Article 29.3 of the Statute of the ESCB require the key for subscription to the ECB’s capital by the ESCB national central banks to be adjusted every five years. Accordingly, an adjustment was made to the ECB’s capital key with effect from the beginning of 2024. As a result of this adjustment, the Bundesbank’s share in the ECB’s subscribed capital increased with effect from 1 January 2024 from 21.4 % to 21.8 %. The Bundesbank’s share in the fully paid-up capital of the ECB went up accordingly from 26.1494 % to 26.6301 %. The participating interest in the ECB (asset sub-item 9.1 “Participating interest in the ECB”) thus increased from a nominal €2,321 million to €2,357 million. The Bundesbank’s claim arising from the transfer of foreign reserves to the ECB (asset sub-item 9.2 “Claims equivalent to the transfer of foreign reserves to the ECB”) also grew, from €10,635 million to €10,802 million.

On 13 March 2024, the Governing Council of the ECB decided on changes to the operational framework for implementing monetary policy to ensure that the framework remains appropriate as the Eurosystem balance sheet normalises. In addition to other key parameters and features of the operational framework, it was agreed that the monetary policy stance would continue to be steered through the deposit facility rate. As a result, the Governing Council of the ECB decided that, as of 1 January 2025, the applicable deposit facility rate, rather than the main refinancing rate, should be used for the remuneration of claims or liabilities related to TARGET, net claims or liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem, and claims equivalent to the transfer of foreign reserves to the ECB. The same rule applies to the calculation of monetary income: the difference between the value of a national central bank’s earmarked assets and the value of its liability base will be remunerated, as of 1 January 2025, at the deposit facility rate, as will the income for government bonds purchased under the PSPP and PEPP without pooling risk and returns.

The Executive Board prepared the Deutsche Bundesbank’s financial statements for financial year 2024 on 11 February 2025. The financial statements were audited by Baker Tilly GmbH & Co. KG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (Düsseldorf), whom the Executive Board engaged as external auditors on 1 September 2020 in accordance with Section 26(3) of the Bundesbank Act. The auditors issued an unqualified audit opinion on 18 February 2025 confirming that the Bundesbank’s financial statements for 2024 – consisting of the balance sheet and the profit and loss account – comply, in all material respects, with the legal requirements and the accounting policies of the Deutsche Bundesbank approved by the Executive Board and give a true and fair view of the net assets, financial position and results of operations of the Deutsche Bundesbank in accordance with German principles of proper accounting and with regard to the notes on the annual financial statements. After studying the external auditors’ unqualified audit opinion, the Executive Board decided that publication of the financial statements would take place on 25 February 2025.

As at 31 December 2024, the Bundesbank’s physical holdings (bars) of fine gold amounted to 3,351,546 kg, or 108 million fine ounces (ozf). These are supplemented by an additional 4 kg of gold receivables that were generated by the settlement of margins in the context of gold transactions. The gold was valued at the market price at the end of the year (1 kg = €80,732.74, or 1 ozf = €2,511.069. Compared with the previous year’s price (1 kg = €60,052.06, or 1 ozf = €1,867.828), this represents an increase of 34.4 %. The gold holdings declined by 0.03 % (1,126 kg, or 0.04 million ozf) in the year under review. This was due to the sale of gold to the Federal Government at market prices for the purpose of minting gold coins. The resulting income of €66 million is shown in sub-item 2.1 “Realised gains/losses arising from financial operations” in the profit and loss account.

This item comprises the receivables from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as balances with banks and security investments, loans and other foreign currency claims on non-euro area residents.

Sub-item 2.1 contains the receivables from the IMF which are financed and held by the Bundesbank and which arise from the Federal Republic of Germany’s membership of the IMF. The receivables, which total 47,158 million special drawing rights (SDRs) (€59,155 million), are made up of the drawing rights within the reserve tranche and the holdings of special drawing rights.

The drawing rights within the reserve tranche correspond to the amounts paid to the IMF in gold, special drawing rights and foreign currency under the German quota, plus the amounts drawn by the IMF from the portion of the quota paid in national currency. Accordingly, the drawing rights in the reserve tranche as recorded on the balance sheet represent the difference between the German quota of SDR 26,634 million (€33,410 million) and the part of Germany’s quota subscription paid in euro (euro balances) that is still at the IMF’s disposal at the end of the year, which came to €25,143 million (SDR 20,044 million). In 2024, the amount of drawing rights held in the reserve tranche declined on balance by SDR 607 million to SDR 6,590 million (€8,267 million).

Special drawing rights – by means of which freely usable currencies as per the IMF definition can be obtained at any time – in the amount of SDR 37,587 million were allocated free of charge. A corresponding counterpart is shown as liability item 8 “Counterpart of special drawing rights allocated by the IMF”. In 2024, the holdings of special drawing rights went up by SDR 454 million (€2,122 million) to SDR 40,568 million (€50,888 million).

Loans under the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) are multilateral credit lines with the IMF, which serve as a backstop for use in the event of a systemic crisis. They were not activated by the IMF in 2024, which means that the Bundesbank was not drawn upon. The Bundesbank’s NAB credit line amounts to SDR 25.8 billion. SDR 26 million (€32 million) in residual receivables from the IMF stemming from earlier drawdowns of the NAB credit line and carried over from 2023 were repaid in the year under review. A temporary bilateral credit line of €17.9 billion additionally pledged by the Bundesbank to the IMF as a further backstop was not drawn down, as adequate IMF liquidity was available. There were, therefore, no receivables arising from the NAB or bilateral loans at the end of the year.

If all items on the assets side and the liabilities side of the balance sheet are taken into account, the net holdings of special drawing rights amounted to SDR 9,621 million, compared with SDR 9,815 million in the previous year. Valuation is based on the reference rate of SDR 1 = €1.2544 (2023: SDR 1 = €1.2157) calculated by the ECB at the end of the year for all central banks participating in the Eurosystem.

Balances with banks and security investments, loans and other foreign currency claims reported under sub-item 2.2 amounted to €33,970 million as at the end of 2024, compared with €33,376 million in the previous year. These include, in particular, US dollar holdings in the amount of US$29,172 million (€28,080 million), representing a decrease of US$2,926 million on the year. This is mainly due to a scaling back of US dollar holdings in favour of augmenting the GBP portfolio. The sub-item also contains holdings in yen (¥202,484 million, equivalent to €1,242 million), Australian dollar (A$1,882 million, equivalent to €1,122 million), Canadian dollar (C$2,498 million, equivalent to €1,671 million), Chinese yuan (renminbi) (2,259 million yuan, equivalent to €298 million) and British pound sterling (£1,288 million, equivalent to €1,553 million), and a small amount of other currencies. The holdings are interest-bearing. The foreign currency holdings were valued at the respective end-of-year market rate.

In 2023, this item included the loans of €2,939 million granted to foreign central banks as part of the ECB’s liquidity lines. These bilateral swap and repo lines cover the euro liquidity needs of financial institutions in non-euro area countries via their central banks. There are no such loans as at year-end 2024. Claims on non-euro area counterparties arising from bilateral repo transactions amounting to €588 million (2023: €2,214 million) are also shown in this item. These claims resulted from reverse repos transacted simultaneously with repos, in which securities in the PSPP portfolio as well as PEPP public sector holdings are lent against federal securities on a cash-neutral basis; the transactions have a maximum term of seven days. The corresponding liabilities from the repos are shown under liability item 5 “Liabilities to non-euro area residents denominated in euro”.

The volume and structure of the liquidity-providing monetary policy operations carried out by the Bundesbank as part of the Eurosystem (main and longer-term refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility) are shown in this item. 

As at the end of the reporting year, the outstanding volume of the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations amounted to €34,221 million (2023: €410,290 million), of which the Bundesbank accounted for €5,509 million (2023: €72,259 million). Pursuant to Article 32.4 of the Statute of the ESCB, risks from these operations, provided they materialise, are shared among the Eurosystem national central banks in proportion to the prevailing shares in the capital of the ECB. Losses arise only if the counterparty to a monetary policy operation defaults and the collateral it has provided proves insufficient upon realisation.

Main refinancing operations are regular weekly transactions with a standard one-week maturity, the purpose of which is to provide liquidity. In the reporting year, main refinancing operations continued to be conducted as fixed rate tenders with full allotment. At the end of the year, the main refinancing operations amounted to €2,009 million, which was €735 million less than at the end of the previous year. On a daily average, the outstanding volume of main refinancing operations came to €878 million (2023: €820 million).

In the year under review, the regular longer-term refinancing operations with maturities of three months were carried out as fixed rate tenders with full allotment at the average main refinancing rate. As at 31 December 2024, take-up of these totalled €3,500 million (2023: €317 million).

The final four of the additional targeted longer-term refinancing operations from the third series (TLTRO III), which were carried out between September 2019 and September 2021 and each had a term of three years, reached maturity in the year under review. The interest on these operations was charged at an individual rate geared to the respective counterparty’s eligible net lending. This rate lay between the average main refinancing rate and deposit facility rate prevailing over the life of the respective operation. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Governing Council of the ECB decided to lower the minimum interest rate over the period from 24 June 2020 to 23 June 2022 to 50 basis points below the deposit facility rate, but in any case to a maximum of − 1 %. Furthermore, the Governing Council decided on 27 October 2022 to index the interest rate on all outstanding TLTRO III operations to the average applicable key ECB interest rates over the period from 23 November 2022 until their maturity date or early repayment date. The outstanding volume at the end of the previous year was €69,198 million.

The total volume of longer-term refinancing operations outstanding at year-end 2024 came to €3,500 million, which was €66,015 million below the figure at the end of 2023; on a daily average, the volume amounted to €26,887 million (2023: €157,612 million).

The marginal lending facility is a standing facility which counterparties may use to obtain overnight liquidity at a pre-specified interest rate. As in the previous year, no recourse was made to this facility at the end of 2024. Average daily use came to €17 million (2023: €67 million).

This item, amounting to €8,926 million (2023: €5,824 million), consists, in particular, of claims on euro area credit institutions arising from bilateral repo transactions amounting to €3,722 million (2023: €4,424 million). These claims resulted from reverse repos transacted simultaneously with repos, in which securities in the PSPP portfolio as well as PEPP public sector holdings are lent against federal securities on a cash-neutral basis; the transactions have a maximum term of seven days. The corresponding liabilities from the repos are shown under liability item 3 “Other liabilities to euro area credit institutions denominated in euro”. This item also includes fixed-term deposits held at credit institutions amounting to €5,204 million (2023: €1,400 million), which arise from funds received in connection with central bank services (see liability item 5 “Liabilities to non-euro area residents denominated in euro”).

This item contains the holdings of securities denominated in euro resulting from purchases made within the framework of the Eurosystem purchase programmes announced by the Governing Council of the ECB, which are shown under sub-item 7.1 “Securities held for monetary policy purposes”. These holdings are carried at amortised cost, irrespective of whether the securities are held to maturity.

With reinvestments under the asset purchase programme (APP) having been discontinued as of July 2023 as per the Governing Council’s decision of 15 June 2023, the year under review saw holdings under the APP (with the individual sub-programmes CBPP3, PSPP and CSPP) decrease as assets reached maturity. Besides this, the Governing Council decided on 18 March 2020 to launch a new temporary €750 billion pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) until the end of 2020, covering all the assets eligible under the APP. The Governing Council’s decisions of 4 June 2020 and 10 December 2020 increased the overall envelope for the PEPP to a total of up to €1,850 billion, whilst its decision of 16 December 2021 reduced net asset purchases under the PEPP in the first quarter of 2022 and discontinued them at the end of March 2022. In the second half of 2024, principal payments from maturing securities stopped being fully reinvested, in accordance with the Governing Council’s decision of 6 June 2024. This reduced Eurosystem PEPP holdings by an average of €7.5 billion per month. Reinvestments under the PEPP will be discontinued as of 2025.

As at year-end, the Eurosystem national central banks’ holdings under the securities markets programme (SMP) – of which the Bundesbank’s portfolio is now empty, all securities having reached maturity – amounted to €1,050 million (2023: €1,901 million), their CBPP3 holdings to €232,571 million (2023: €262,090 million), their CSPP holdings to €288,374 million (2023: €323,921 million) and their PSPP holdings of securities issued by supranational institutions (of which the Bundesbank itself did not acquire any holdings) to €227,808 million (2023: €255,261 million). As at 31 December 2024, the Eurosystem national central banks’ PEPP holdings amounted to €5,097 million in the covered bonds portfolio (2023: €5,197 million), to €45,105 million in the corporate sector portfolio (2023: €45,989 million) and to €158,931 million (2023: €154,332 million) in the portfolio of securities issued by supranational institutions (of which the Bundesbank itself did not acquire any holdings). Consistent with Article 32.4 of the Statute of the ESCB, all risks from the SMP, CBPP3, CSPP and the above-mentioned PSPP and PEPP holdings, provided they materialise, are shared among the Eurosystem national central banks in proportion to the prevailing shares in the capital of the ECB, as is the case with the income received. Risks and income resulting from the government bonds purchased under the PSPP and PEPP (including regional government bonds and bonds issued by eligible agencies located in the euro area), on the other hand, are borne or are collected, respectively, by the individual national central banks holding these bonds. For its PSPP and PEPP public sector portfolio, the Bundesbank purchases only bonds issued by German issuers.

The Governing Council of the ECB decided that there was no need to recognise any impairment losses on securities contained in the SMP, CBPP3, PSPP, CSPP and PEPP portfolios as at 31 December 2024, as it is expected that all payment obligations relating to the bonds and debt securities contained in Eurosystem central banks’ holdings will continue to be met as agreed.

This item shows the equalisation claims on the Federal Government and the non-interest-bearing debt register claim in respect of Berlin; both date back to the currency reform of 1948. They form the balance sheet counterpart of the amounts paid out at that time in cash per capita and per enterprise and of the initial provision of credit institutions and public corporations with central bank money. Equalisation claims yield interest at a rate of 1 % per annum. In conjunction with Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (the Lisbon Treaty), it has been stipulated that the equalisation claims and the debt register claim are to be redeemed in ten annual instalments, starting in 2024. The first redemption payment was made as at 31 December 2024; totalling €445 million, it brought the equalisation claims down to €3,995 million (2023: €4,440 million).

The Bundesbank’s claims on the ECB and on the national central banks participating in the Eurosystem are consolidated in this item.

Sub-item 9.1 shows the Bundesbank’s participating interest in the ECB. Pursuant to Article 28 of the Statute of the ESCB, the ESCB national central banks are the sole subscribers to the capital of the ECB. The Bundesbank’s participating interest in the ECB amounted to a nominal €2,357 million as at 31 December 2024; including the Bundesbank’s share of the ECB’s net equity, effective from 1 January 2024, it came to €2,786 million (see “Notes on the annual accounts: general information”).

Sub-item 9.2 contains the Bundesbank’s euro-denominated claims equivalent to the transfer of foreign reserves to the ECB. At the beginning of 1999, the central banks participating in the Eurosystem transferred foreign reserve assets (15 % in gold and 85 % in foreign currency) to the ECB in accordance with Article 30 of the Statute of the ESCB. Adjustments to the key for subscription of the ECB’s capital also result in adjustments to the Bundesbank’s claims equivalent to the transfer of foreign reserves to the ECB. As at 31 December 2024, these claims amounted to €10,802 million (2023: €10,635 million). As the transferred gold does not earn any interest, the claims are remunerated at 85 % of the prevailing main refinancing rate.

The cross-border payments processed in TARGET result in the automatic and direct creation of a single liability to, or claim on, the ECB at the end of each business day. As at the end of the year, the Bundesbank’s claim on the ECB was €47,053 million lower at €1,046,318 million, which is contained in sub-item 9.3 “Claims related to TARGET”. This is remunerated at the respective main refinancing rate, with the exception of the unremunerated intra-Eurosystem liabilities resulting from the swap transactions between the ECB and the Bundesbank. On a daily average, the remunerated claim amounted to €1,072,377 million (2023: €1,086,088 million). 

Sub-item 9.4 “Net claims related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem” shows the claims which arise from applying the euro banknote allocation key. As in 2023, the Bundesbank did not have a claim as at the end of 2024 but a liability, which is shown in liability sub-item 9.2 “Net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem”.

Sub-item 9.5 “Other claims within the Eurosystem (net)” would show a net claim arising from other assets and liabilities within the Eurosystem. At the end of 2024, the Bundesbank had a net liability, which is reported with notes on the liabilities side under sub-item 9.3 “Other liabilities within the Eurosystem (net)” (in the annual accounts for 2023 this was netted with the TARGET claim on the ECB and shown on the assets side in accordance with the accounting policies applicable at the time; see “Notes on the annual accounts: general information”).

This item contains the asset items arising from payments still being processed within the Bundesbank.

The Bundesbank’s holdings of euro coins are shown in sub-item 11.1 “Coins”. New coins are received from the federal mints at their nominal value for the account of the Federal Government, which holds the coin prerogative.

Sub-item 11.2 “Tangible and intangible fixed assets” amounted to €759 million, compared with €795 million in the previous year. It comprises land and buildings, furniture and equipment including computer equipment, and software.

Sub-item 11.3 “Other financial assets” amounted to €6,084 million, compared with €10,258 million in the previous year. It contains the Bundesbank’s own funds portfolio as a counterpart to its capital, reserves and long-term provisions for civil servant pensions and healthcare assistance. The own funds portfolio is invested not in government securities but exclusively in fixed rate covered bonds denominated in euro, which are generally held to maturity and are, therefore, valued at amortised cost.

This sub-item also includes €51 million in participating interests held by the Bundesbank. The Bundesbank’s participating interest in the Bank for International Settlements, Basel, was unchanged at €50 million as at the end of the year; it holds 50,100 shares, with 25 % of their par value being paid-in capital. As in the previous year, the participating interest in the cooperative society S.W.I.F.T., La Hulpe (Belgium), amounted to €1 million.

Claims on euro area counterparties other than credit institutions arising from bilateral repo transactions amounting to €773 million (2023: €2,844 million) are also shown in this sub-item. These claims resulted from reverse repos transacted simultaneously with repos, in which securities in the PSPP portfolio as well as PEPP public sector holdings are lent against federal securities on a cash-neutral basis; the transactions have a maximum term of seven days. The corresponding liabilities from the repos are shown under liability sub-item 4.2 “Other liabilities”.

Sub-item 11.5 “Accruals and prepaid expenses” contains accruals and prepaid expenses as at 31 December 2024. This chiefly consists of (accrued) interest income due in the new financial year from securities and from the TARGET claim on the ECB which were acquired or transacted in 2024.

The total value of euro banknotes issued by the central banks of the Eurosystem is distributed among these banks on the last business day of each month in accordance with the key for allocating euro banknotes (see “Notes on the annual accounts: General information”). According to the banknote allocation key applied as at 31 December 2024, the Bundesbank has a 24.5 % share of the value of all the euro banknotes in circulation. During the year under review, the total value of banknotes in circulation within the Eurosystem rose from €1,567.7 billion to €1,588.3 billion, or by 1.3 %. Taking into account the allocation key, the Bundesbank had euro banknotes in circulation worth €389,136 million as at the end of the year, compared with €377,036 million a year previously. The value of the euro banknotes actually issued by the Bundesbank increased in 2024 by 3.9 % from €920,705 million to €956,327 million. As this was more than the allocated amount, the difference of €567,191 million (2023: €543,670 million) is shown in liability sub-item 9.2 “Net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem”.

Sub-item 2.1 “Current accounts” contains the deposits of credit institutions, amounting to €76,527 million (2023: €52,994 million), which are also used to meet the minimum reserve requirement and to settle payments. The main criterion for including these deposits in this sub-item is that the relevant counterparties appear in the list of institutions which are subject to the Eurosystem’s minimum reserve regulations. The balances held to fulfil the minimum reserve requirement amounted to €44,576 million on an annual average. In accordance with the ECB Governing Council’s decision of 27 July 2023, these balances have been remunerated at 0 % since September 2023; balances on current accounts in excess of the minimum reserve requirement have already been remunerated at 0 % since July 2022. On a daily average, current account deposits decreased from €50,217 million in 2023 to €46,433 million in 2024.

Sub-item 2.2 “Deposit facility”, amounting to €883,694 million (2023: €1,056,837 million), contains overnight deposits remunerated at the deposit facility rate. On a daily average, the deposit facility amounted to €1,079,217 million, compared with €1,203,610 million in 2023.

Sub-item 2.5 “Deposits related to margin calls” contains cash collateral deposited by credit institutions in order to increase underlying assets. As at 31 December 2024, no holdings were reported under this item (2023: €24 million).

This item contains, in particular, liabilities to euro area credit institutions arising from bilateral repo transactions cleared centrally via Eurex. In these transactions, securities in the PSPP portfolio as well as PEPP public sector holdings are lent against cash as collateral, or in the case of simultaneous reverse repos, against federal securities on a cash-neutral basis; the transactions have a maximum term of seven days. As at the end of the year, securities lending against cash as collateral gave rise to liabilities in the amount of €4,544 million (2023: €8,957 million), and securities lending against federal securities resulted in liabilities of €3,722 million (2023: €4,424 million); the corresponding claims are reported in asset item 6 “Other claims on euro area credit institutions denominated in euro”. In addition, this item contains liabilities in the amount of €452 million (2023: €955 million) arising from account balances pledged for deposit protection pursuant to the Deposit Guarantee Act (Einlagensicherungsgesetz) in conjunction with the Regulation on the Financing of the Compensation Scheme (Entschädigungseinrichtungs-Finanzierungsverordnung) as well as account balances of credit institutions in the amount of €118 million (2023: €182 million) which are exempt from minimum reserve requirements due to the imposition of freezing orders.

Sub-item 4.1 “General government deposits” encompasses the balances of the Federal Government, its special funds, the state governments, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and other public depositors (social security funds and local governments). On 31 December 2024, general government deposits amounted to €20,348 million in all (2023: €25,955 million). On a daily average, the volume amounted to €13,847 million (2023: €48,959 million).

Sub-item 4.2 “Other liabilities” amounted to €13,897 million, compared with €18,454 million a year earlier. It mainly comprises deposits of other financial service providers. In addition, liabilities to euro area counterparties other than credit institutions arising from bilateral repo transactions were included in this sub-item as at 31 December 2024. In these repo transactions, securities in the PSPP portfolio as well as PEPP public sector holdings are lent against cash as collateral, or in the case of simultaneous reverse repos, against federal securities on a cash-neutral basis; the transactions have a maximum term of seven days. As at the end of the year, securities lending against cash as collateral did not give rise to any liabilities (2023: €4 million), and securities lending against federal securities resulted in liabilities of €773 million (2023: €2,844 million); the corresponding claims are reported in asset sub-item 11.3 “Other financial assets”. On a daily average, the sub-item amounted to €12,520 million (2023: €21,394 million).

This balance sheet item, amounting to €90,748 million (2023: €161,000 million), contains the balances of non-euro area central banks, monetary authorities, international organisations and commercial banks held, inter alia, to settle payments. On a daily average, the volume amounted to €54,196 million (2023: €114,208 million). As at 31 December 2024, deposits of €67,174 million were attributable to non-euro area central banks and monetary authorities, of which €21,164 million was attributable to central banks within the European Union. This item also includes fixed-term deposits of central banks accepted as part of the Bundesbank’s central bank services amounting to €5,204 million (2023: €1,400 million), which are then invested in the money market (see asset item 6 “Other claims on euro area credit institutions denominated in euro”). Liabilities to non-euro area commercial banks arising from bilateral repo transactions are also recorded in this item. In these repo transactions, securities in the PSPP portfolio as well as PEPP public sector holdings are lent against cash as collateral, or in the case of simultaneous reverse repos, against federal securities on a cash-neutral basis; the transactions have a maximum term of seven days. As at the end of the year, securities lending against cash as collateral gave rise to liabilities in the amount of €2,312 million (2023: €4,985 million), and securities lending against federal securities resulted in liabilities of €588 million (2023: €2,214 million); the corresponding claims are reported in asset item 4 “Claims on non-euro area residents denominated in euro”.

This item contains, in particular, deposits on foreign currency accounts of the Federal Government.

Foreign currency-denominated liabilities to banks outside the euro area are recorded in this item. In 2023, it contained liabilities in US dollars, amounting to €31 million, which arose from repos; no liabilities were reported in this item as at 31 December 2024. 

The counterpart of the special drawing rights (SDRs) allocated by the IMF free of charge corresponds to the allocations of SDRs to the Federal Republic of Germany from 1970 to 1972, from 1979 to 1981, in 2009 and in 2021, which together totalled SDR 37,587 million (see asset sub-item 2.1 “Receivables from the IMF”).

The Bundesbank’s liabilities to the ECB and to the other central banks participating in the Eurosystem are consolidated in this item.

Sub-item 9.1 contains “Liabilities related to TARGET”. As at the end of the year, the Bundesbank had a claim on the ECB arising from cross-border payments made via TARGET, which is shown on the assets side in sub-item 9.3 “Claims related to TARGET” and outlined there.

Sub-item 9.2 “Net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem” contains the liabilities arising from the application of the euro banknote allocation key (see liability item 1 “Banknotes in circulation”). As at the end of the year, these liabilities amounted to €567,191 million in total (2023: €543,670 million). The 8 % share of the total value of euro banknotes in circulation attributable to the ECB (€1,588.3 billion) resulted in a liability of €33,838 million for the Bundesbank (according to its capital share of 26.6 %). In addition, the allocation of the remaining 92 % of euro banknotes in circulation to the balance sheets of the national central banks resulted in a liability of €533,353 million for the Bundesbank. The reason for the size of this liability was the Bundesbank’s still disproportionately high share of banknote issuance (60.2 %), which is largely due to net outflows of banknotes to other countries, as well as the relatively high level of domestic demand for banknotes from non-banks.

The net liabilities arising from other assets and liabilities within the Eurosystem is shown in sub-item 9.3 “Other liabilities within the Eurosystem (net)”. As at the end of the year, the Bundesbank had a net liability of €5,445 million arising, in particular, from the pooling of monetary income among the national central banks (see profit and loss item 3 “Net result of pooling monetary income”) (2023: €5,182 million; in the annual accounts for 2023, this was shown net of the TARGET claim on the ECB on the assets side, in accordance with the accounting principles applicable at the time; see “Notes on the annual accounts: General information”).

This item contains the liability items arising from payments still being processed within the Bundesbank.

Sub-item 11.2 “Accruals and income collected in advance” contains the accrued and collected income as at 31 December 2024. This consists mainly of (accrued) interest expenses which are due in the new financial year but were incurred in the previous financial year and which arose in connection with the allocation of banknotes within the Eurosystem.

Sub-item 11.3 “Sundry” comprises the liabilities arising from Deutsche Mark banknotes still in circulation. Deutsche Mark banknotes are no longer legal tender. However, the Bundesbank has publicly undertaken to redeem Deutsche Mark banknotes that are still in circulation for an indefinite period. The Deutsche Mark banknotes still in circulation belong to the series BBk I/Ia and BBk III/IIIa and as at the end of 2024 totalled €2,884 million. The banknote series BBk I/Ia accounted for €1,171 million of this total and the banknote series BBk III/IIIa for €1,714 million. Taking into account the partial derecognitions in 2004 and 2021 and the deposits that have been made in the meantime, the liability arising from the Deutsche Mark banknotes still in circulation amounted to €417 million (2023: €431 million) as at the reporting date. Deposits of Deutsche Mark banknotes in 2024 totalled €18 million, of which €14 million consisted of the BBk III/IIIa series banknotes and €4 million of the BBk I/Ia series banknotes (see profit and loss item 11 “Other expenses”).

Sub-item 12.1 “Provision for general risk” would show the provision for general risk, which is established in accordance with the rules governing the annual accounts of the Bundesbank pursuant to Section 26(2) of the Bundesbank Act and serves as a hedge against general risks associated with domestic and foreign business. In 2023, the provision for general risk, amounting to €19,199 million, was released in full to offset losses incurred due to the materialisation of interest rate risk.

Sub-item 12.2 “Other provisions” contains the provisions for monetary policy operations pursuant to the Eurosystem’s accounting principles and provisions pursuant to regulations set forth in the Commercial Code.

In accordance with the Eurosystem’s accounting principles, the Governing Council of the ECB decided in the previous year to establish a provision for the required impairment of one PEPP corporate sector security. Consistent with Article 32.4 of the Statute of the ESCB, provisions for monetary policy operations are funded by each national central bank in the Eurosystem according to its capital share. These provisions (Bundesbank share: €11 million) were released owing to the sale of the PEPP corporate sector security in question during the reporting year, and taken to profit and loss item 3 “Net result of pooling monetary income” where the amount was netted against the realised loss from the sale of this security included in the Eurosystem’s monetary income (see profit and loss item 3 “Net result of pooling monetary income”).

Provisions for post-employment benefit obligations (direct pension commitments and indirect pension commitments as a result of the Bundesbank’s obligation to act as guarantor for pension payments out of the supplementary pension funds for public sector employees) as well as for healthcare subsidy commitments to civil servants are valued on the basis of actuarial expert opinions prepared using current mortality tables (Heubeck 2018 G mortality tables) according to the entry age normal method (Teilwertverfahren) (for current staff) and the present value method (Barwertverfahren) (for pensioners and ex-civil servants with portable pension entitlements), taking into account discount rates and trends. The discount rate used for post-employment benefit obligations is, in each case, a matched-maturity average market interest rate for the past ten years or, for healthcare subsidy commitments to civil servants, for the past seven years pursuant to the Regulation on the Discounting of Provisions (Rückstellungsabzinsungsverordnung).

Pursuant to Section 253(6) of the Commercial Code, the amount saved by applying the ten-year rather than the seven-year period for calculating the average market interest rate for post-employment benefit obligations is subject to a restriction on distribution. In 2023, the ten-year rate (1.78 %) and the seven-year rate (1.62 %) resulted in an interest margin of 16 basis points, representing a difference of €246 million. In 2024, the interest margin came to a smaller 4 basis points (1.78 % versus 1.74 %), which resulted in a lower saving of €63 million. Owing to the loss for the year, the reserve including the calculated saving was released in full (see “Notes on the annual accounts: General information”, liability item 14 “Capital and reserves” and profit and loss item 13 “Allocation to/withdrawal from reserves”). 

Provisions for the partial retirement scheme and for payment commitments arising from staff restructuring schemes that had already been carried out as at the reporting date are valued based on actuarial expert opinions prepared using current mortality tables according to the present value method, or according to the entry age normal method in the case of the outstanding settlement amount for the partial retirement scheme, taking into account discount rates and trends. The discount rate is based on a matched-maturity average market interest rate for the past seven years pursuant to the Regulation on the Discounting of Provisions.

The other provisions are created for remaining holiday entitlement, overtime worked and positive balances of flexible working hours and long-term working hours accounts as well as for other uncertain liabilities.

Expenses in the amount of €147 million from marking up the provisions (including the effects of the change in the discount rates) are contained in profit and loss sub-item 1.2 “Interest expense”. Profit and loss item 7 “Staff costs” shows a net allocation of €372 million, with a total allocated amount of €675 million standing against a total utilisation of €303 million. Other changes in provisioning gave rise, on balance, to relief of €7 million in profit and loss item 11 “Other expenses” and to relief of €1 million in profit and loss item 8 “Administrative expenses”. The reversal of provisions resulted in income of €38 million in profit and loss item 6 “Other income”.

This item contains the disclosed hidden reserves from the initial valuation at the time of the changeover to market valuation as at 1 January 1999 (revaluation items “old”) and the unrealised gains arising from market valuation as at 31 December 2024 (revaluation items “new”).

A revaluation item “old” now remains only for gold. This item represents the difference between the market value of gold as at 1 January 1999 and the lower book value of gold prior to that date. On the balance sheet as at 31 December 1998, the book value for gold was 1 ozf = DEM 143.8065 (€73.5271), while the market value as at 1 January 1999 was 1 ozf = €246.368. Although the valuation gains arising from the initial valuation of the gold holdings are not eligible for distribution, they will be released under certain circumstances. Besides being released in the case of devaluations, a proportionate release will also take place in the event of net reductions if the end-of-year gold holdings are below their lowest end-of-year level since 1999.

The reduction of 1,126 kg, or 0.04 million ozf, in the gold holdings resulted in the release of €6 million in the year under review, which was taken to profit and loss sub-item 2.1 “Realised gains/losses arising from financial operations”.

The revaluation items “new” show, for the gold holdings, the net positions in each foreign currency and the securities portfolios in each category of security (securities identification number), the positive difference in each case between the market value on 31 December 2024 and their value at average amortised cost since 1 January 1999.

As regards gold, this acquisition cost is 1 ozf = €246.369. As at the end of the year, the market value of the gold position exceeded its acquisition value, leading to a revaluation item of €244,032 million (2023: €174,779 million). In the case of the net foreign exchange positions in US dollars, SDRs, Canadian dollars, Chinese yuan (renminbi) and pound sterling, the market values as at 31 December 2024 were also above their acquisition values (€1 = US$1.2137, €1 = SDR 1.2094, €1 = C$1.5431, €1 = 7.9645 yuan and €1 = £0.83432), resulting in revaluation items. As at the end of the year, the market values of the net foreign exchange positions in Japanese yen and in Australian dollars were below the respective acquisition values (€1 = ¥156.55 and €1 = A$1.6268), meaning that valuation losses were incurred (see profit and loss sub-item 2.2 “Write-downs on financial assets and positions”).

The valuation gains on foreign currency-denominated securities shown on the balance sheet result predominantly from US Treasury notes (€28 million). However, for a large portion of the US Treasury notes, the relevant acquisition values were higher than their corresponding market values on the reporting date, resulting in valuation losses of €212 million (see profit and loss sub-item 2.2 “Write-downs on financial assets and positions”). In principle, securities denominated in euro are carried at amortised cost. Marking to market would result in valuation losses of €87,999 million (2023: €97,765 million), mostly from government bonds held for monetary policy purposes (PEPP public sector securities and PSPP) and valuation gains of €1,041 million (2023: €1,151 million).

In accordance with Section 2 of the Bundesbank Act, the Bank’s capital, amounting to €2.5 billion, is owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. The statutory reserves pursuant to Section 27 No 1 of the Bundesbank Act, in the amount of €414 million, and the reserves owing to the restriction on distribution pursuant to Section 253(6) of the Commercial Code (see “Notes on the annual accounts: general information” and profit and loss item 13 “Allocation to/withdrawal from reserves”), in the amount of €246 million, were used to offset pro rata the loss for the year and released in full.