Germany
Weber urges spending cuts by German govt
In his first speech as Bundesbank president, Axel Weber urged the German government to cut spending and push ahead with key reforms to prioritise reining in the fiscal deficit below the 3-pct-of-GDP limit set by the EU stability and growth pact.
Redesign of the Bundesbank's website
The Deutsche Bundesbank has launched its redesigned website. Two key objectives have been achieved, the bank said. Completely barrier-free access to the website and consistent, uniform structuring of complex material in an attractive design, retaining…
Deutsche Bundesbank - Annual Report 2003
The Deutsche Bundesbank has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. For the German economy 2003 was a year of major change, the report says. At the start of the year, Germany was in a severe crisis of growth and confidence. However, in the…
Ethics for central bankers
The ejection of Ernst Welteke from the presidency of the Bundesbank has focused many central bankers on the issue of professional ethics. CentralBankNet examines how leading central banks navigate the issue.
Weber officially takes over at Bundesbank
Economics professor Axel Weber was formally appointed on Friday 30 April to head the Bundesbank, following Ernst Welteke's recent resignation. He can therefore attend the next meeting of the European Central Bank in Helsinki next week.
ECB rates not an obstacle: Stark
The current level of interest rates in the 12-country eurozone is no obstacle to economic growth in the single currency region, the Bundesbank's interim president Juergen Stark said in newspaper interviews on Monday 26 April.
Welteke to face probe this week
Former Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke is to be interrogated on Wednesday 28 April by prosecutors in the so-called "Adlon" affair, in which the central bank chief is accused of illegally accepting gifts, the mass-circulation daily Bild reported on…
France, Germany pressured ECB over rates-report
The European Central Bank faced more pressure for lower interest rates from the euro zone's biggest countries, France and Germany, at Saturday's meeting (April 24) of the world's top economic powers, an EU source said.
Welteke won't get full salary to 2007
Former Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke won't draw his full salary as German central bank chief over the next three years after quitting last week, denying a report in the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper.
Focus on Weber, the Bundesbank's surprise choice
Little was known about economics professor Axel Weber, the German government's surprise choice to head the Bundesbank this week, who told a news conference on Wednesday 21 April that he jogs to relax.
Welteke's parting words
Here we republish Ernst Welteke's personal statement on his resignation from the Bundesbank. In the statement Welteke said the Bundesbank's independence continued to be flouted and that the trust between himself and the Ministry of Finance had been …
Stability Pact crucial for EMU says Trichet
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Dutch television that the stability pact was crucial for the European Monetary Union and that the Netherlands had taken appropriate steps to avoid a budget deficit of above three per cent.
Germany nominates new central bank head
An economics professor, Alex Weber, is the German government's surprise choice for Bundesbank president. Government officials officially nominated the 47-year-old University of Cologne professor after a cabinet meeting on the morning of Wednesday 21…
Welteke resigns from Bundesbank
Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke resigned Friday after coming under heavy criticism for taking a free hotel stay from a commercial bank. He said in a statement "the disregard for the legally guaranteed independence of the Bundesbank and its…
Stark to succeed Welteke?
Ernst Welteke, head of the Bundesbank, resigned on Friday. The Bundesbank and German Ministry of Finance called his decision "appropriate". Many observers of the affair think that his successor will be Koch-Weser, the ministry of finance official…
Bundesbank appoints corporate governance officer
On 14 April the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank appointed Professor Theodor Baums of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt as Corporate Governance Compliance Officer of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
Eichel tells FAZ Welteke actions 'unacceptable'
Ernst Welteke faced strong criticism from the German government on Tuesday 13 April when the finance minister said in an interview with a German daily that it was unacceptable that the official took a free hotel stay from a private bank under Bundesbank…
Gov't and Bundesbank agree to work together
The German Government has agreed to work together with the Bundesbank over the Ernst Welteke scandal, it was reported on Tuesday 13 April, as both organisations try to prevent their conflict from escalating.
Buba's Executive Board to abide by ECB Code
The Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank has decided, with immediateEffect (8 April), to expressly adopt and apply to itself the Code of Conduct applicable to the members of the Governing Council of the ECB.
Welteke takes leave from Bundesbank
Reports on Thursday 8 April said that the Bundesbank is resisting pressure from the German government to install Deputy Finance Minister Caio Koch-Weser as president to replace Ernst Welteke who agreed to take leave on Wednesday.
German government calls for quick Welteke decision
Bundesbank chief Ernst Welteke can be replaced "very quickly" if he resigns or is removed by the central bank over a hotel stay paid for by a commercial bank, the German government said Wednesday.
Welteke asks Bundesbank Board to review conduct
Ernst Welteke said on Tuesday 6 April that he had asked the Bundesbank's executive board to review his conduct in accepting a hotel stay paid by one of the country's major commercial banks. The move follows a decision by Welteke to pay the bill Monday.
Bundesbank chief Welteke pays disputed bill
The president of the Bundesbank sought to head off calls for his resignation on Monday by agreeing to pay back a controversial luxury-hotel bill which was covered by a private bank.
Welteke dashes hopes of ECB rate cut
Bundesbank president and European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Ernst Welteke sought in a TV interview to dampen hopes for an interest rate cut.