The Bundesbank believes that the markets are only a temporary respite and is preparing for battle. In 2012, the German central bank almost doubled its provisions for risks, inflating the balance sheet item from 7,7 to 14,4 billion euros. This is what emerges from the bank's annual accounts, which closed 2012 with a net profit of 664 million euros, slightly up on the 643 million of the previous year, precisely due to the provisions.
“Despite the significant increase in the interest margin, profit hardly moved due to the increase in provisions for risks – explained the president of Buba, Jens Weidmann -. The financial crisis and the sovereign debt crisis are the greatest risks for the German economy. For the eurozone, the short-term risk is that of disinflation, ie a drop in the inflation rate below the medium-term objective of the ECB, by a level below but close to 2%”.
