--- source: Deutsche Bundesbank / Bank for International Settlements url: https://www.bis.org/review/r260311c.htm document_type: pdf date_retrieved: 2026-03-17 period: 2025 Annual Report parent_publication: Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2025 indicators_covered: [Net Equity, Gold Revaluation Reserve, Annual Loss, Net Interest Income, Interest Rates, Banknote Circulation, Balance Sheet Assets/Liabilities] speaker: Sabine Mauderer, First Deputy Governor date_presented: 2026-03-05 --- # Deutsche Bundesbank Annual Report 2025 ## Press Conference Statement **Presented by:** Dr Sabine Mauderer, First Deputy Governor **Location:** Frankfurt am Main **Date:** 5 March 2026 --- ## 1. Introduction Ladies and gentlemen, A warm welcome to today's annual accounts press conference. Before delving into the 2025 annual accounts in detail, three important messages are conveyed: 1. **Net equity has climbed to €363 billion.** 2. **There is a revaluation reserve of €387 billion for the gold.** 3. **The loss for the year has more than halved, and it is likely to decline further in the years to come.** This all means that the Bundesbank is in sound financial shape and remains able to fully discharge its tasks even with an accumulated loss. The financial burdens stemming from the monetary policy measures of the past years made themselves felt again in 2025. The Bank is reporting a loss for the year of **€8.6 billion for 2025**. The loss for the year has thus more than halved compared to the previous year (2024: €19.8 billion). The loss for the year of €8.6 billion pushes the accumulated loss up to **€27.8 billion**. But the Bundesbank is on a very strong financial footing. --- ## 2. Balance Sheet ### Assets Side Total assets fell only slightly, by around €24 billion. While monetary policy bond holdings declined, the gold position climbed to a historical high. Three aspects stand out as shaping the assets side of the balance sheet: 1. **Securities Holdings from Monetary Policy Purchase Programmes** – APP and PEPP – are gradually decreasing as securities reach maturity. Monetary policy securities holdings declined by **€122 billion in 2025**. 2. **Liquidity Flows** – The TARGET claim on the ECB saw a slight reduction of **€23 billion**. 3. **Gold Position** – The gold position rose by **€125 billion** compared with the previous year-end figure on account of valuation effects, reaching a new historical high of **€395 billion**. This almost offsets the monetary policy-induced decline in total assets. ### Liabilities Side Looking at the liabilities side of the balance sheet, three key points are highlighted: 1. **Monetary Policy Deposits** – With monetary policy securities holdings declining on the assets side, the liabilities side saw a further reduction in deposits: liabilities related to monetary policy operations fell by **€137 billion** on the year. In addition, other euro balances went down by **€23 billion** over the past year, mainly owing to smaller balances of non-euro area central banks. 2. **Banknotes in Circulation** – When the negative interest rate policy period ended in 2022, growth in the volume of banknotes in circulation within the Eurosystem effectively came to a standstill. Since mid-2024, banknote circulation has picked up momentum again at some national central banks, especially the Bundesbank. The volume of banknotes issued by the Bundesbank has risen to **€990 billion**. However, according to the banknote allocation key, the Bundesbank's share of total euro banknotes issued by the Eurosystem amounts to just **€397 billion**. The difference of **€593 billion** appears in liabilities sub-item "Net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem". 3. **Revaluation Accounts** – This item increased on the year, climbing by **€121 billion to €388 billion**. The revaluation reserve for gold contained within that item has risen by **€125 billion to €387 billion** based on the market value of gold as at the reporting date. The revaluation reserve for gold has exhibited strong growth, especially when viewed over the long term. This revaluation reserve is currently almost nineteen times as high as its level when monetary union was launched at the start of 1999. The revaluation reserve for foreign currency has fallen significantly by **€4 billion**, due in particular to the US dollar's weakening against the euro. ### Net Equity Composition Net equity comprises: 1. Capital and reserves 2. The provision for general risk 3. The revaluation accounts item 4. As of the 2024 annual accounts, the accumulated loss Net equity has risen by **€112 billion to €363 billion** in 2025, even though the accumulated loss in 2025 has increased by **€8.6 billion to €27.8 billion**. The increase in net equity is due to the revaluation reserve for gold having reached a new high. The net equity of **€363 billion** shows that the Bank can absorb existing and prospective losses and is fully able to fulfil its mandate. The balance sheet is very sound. --- ## 3. Profit and Loss Account The Bundesbank's earnings situation has improved considerably on the year. The key interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 continue to have a marked impact on the annual result. On the assets side, the Bank holds long-term monetary policy securities generating comparatively low levels of remuneration. On the liabilities side, there are short-term deposits of banks remunerated at higher rates. ### Net Interest Income The most important component of the profit and loss account is net interest income. | Metric | 2025 | 2024 | |--------|------|------| | Net Interest Income | **€-4.2 billion** | €-13.1 billion | | Average Remuneration on Monetary Policy Securities | 0.58% | — | | Average Interest Expense on Bank Deposits | 2.31% | — | | Negative Interest Margin | 1.73% | 3.28% | Net interest income has moved in the right direction. The monetary policy asset purchases have given rise to longer-term fixed interest positions generating a low level of remuneration. The mismatch in maturities creates an open euro interest rate position on the balance sheet. The significant increase in the deposit facility rate in 2022 and 2023 has caused the interest rate risk contained in the open euro interest rate position to materialise, placing net interest income under strain. In 2025, monetary policy securities were remunerated at an average rate of **0.58%**, while credit institutions' monetary policy deposits gave rise to an average interest expense of **2.31%**. This gives a negative interest margin of **1.73%**, significantly smaller than the previous year's figure of **3.28%**, owing to movements in key interest rates. Maturing securities held for monetary policy purposes have brought the open euro interest rate position down by around **24% on average for 2025**, placing a markedly lower burden on net interest income overall. ### Financial Operations and Foreign Exchange/Securities Results The net result of financial operations and write-downs related to foreign exchange and securities is **€-226 million on balance**, €1.1 billion lower than in the previous year. This is largely due to exchange rate losses. ### Monetary Income Redistribution Monetary income comprises interest income from monetary policy assets, less interest paid on their counterpart liability items. The resulting net interest income is shared across the Eurosystem according to the capital key. The burden from the net result of pooling monetary income in 2025 is **€1.7 billion**, significantly lower than the previous year's figure of €5.5 billion. The €3.8 billion reduction is mainly due to interest rate cuts and the change in the reference interest rate. Since the beginning of 2025, the lower deposit facility rate has been used instead of the main refinancing rate. As a result, the negative interest margin between the actual remuneration and the reference interest rate has narrowed. The Eurosystem's holdings of monetary policy supranational securities came to an annual average of **€368 billion**. These are securities issued by supranational institutions and purchased by other national central banks as part of PSPP and PEPP purchases. The Bundesbank itself has no holdings. The redistribution effects affecting monetary income are almost exclusively attributable to these securities. The supranational securities holdings generate only a low level of remuneration. Calculating the difference compared with the deposit facility rate gives a negative interest margin of around **1.6%** on an annual average for 2025 (previous year, calculated against the main refinancing rate: 3.6%). Based on its capital share of **26.6%**, the charge for the Bundesbank came to around **€1.6 billion**, compared with a charge of **€3.8 billion in 2024**. ### Staff Costs Staff costs came to **€1.8 billion in 2025**, up **€322 million**. This was due to higher transfers to staff provisions necessitated by the general pay rise for salaried staff and civil servants. ### Annual Loss and Accumulated Loss The upshot overall is a **loss for the year of €8.6 billion for 2025**. In 2024, the loss for the year amounted to €19.8 billion, but reserves totalling €0.7 billion were available to offset some of that. Combined with the accumulated losses of **€19.2 billion** carried forward from 2024, the 2025 accumulated loss comes to **€27.8 billion**. This will be carried forward to 2026. --- ## 4. Conclusion ### Key Takeaways **The positive news:** The Bundesbank's assets considerably outweigh its obligations. **Net equity stands at €363 billion and has thus risen by 44.7%!** **The loss situation:** The loss for the year in 2025 has more than halved compared to the previous year but is still considerable at **€8.6 billion**. The Bank expects the burdens to carry on subsiding in 2026. Nevertheless, they will remain sizeable. **Future outlook:** The open euro interest rate position will shrink further in size, with monetary policy securities holdings getting progressively smaller as they mature. Overall, the Bundesbank expects to report accumulated losses for an extended period of time, meaning that distribution of profit will not be possible. ### Final Statement The Bundesbank is capable of shouldering both its current and foreseeable financial burdens. It is fully able to discharge its tasks. The Bundesbank's balance sheet remains sound. --- ## Key Figures Summary | Item | Value | Change | |------|-------|--------| | Net Equity | €363 billion | +€112 billion (+44.7%) | | Gold Revaluation Reserve | €387 billion | +€125 billion | | Gold Position | €395 billion | +€125 billion | | Annual Loss (2025) | €8.6 billion | -€11.2 billion vs 2024 | | Accumulated Loss | €27.8 billion | +€8.6 billion | | Banknotes Issued (Bundesbank) | €990 billion | Increased from mid-2024 | | Banknotes (Eurosystem allocation share) | €397 billion | — | | Net Interest Income | €-4.2 billion | +€8.9 billion improvement vs €-13.1B in 2024 | | Monetary Policy Securities Holdings | Declined by €122 billion | From APP and PEPP maturity | | TARGET Claim Reduction | €23 billion | — | | Monetary Policy Liabilities Reduction | €137 billion | — | | Staff Costs | €1.8 billion | +€322 million | | Charge from Monetary Income Redistribution | €1.6 billion | €2.2 billion improvement vs €3.8B in 2024 |