The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, posted a profit of 963 million euros in 2016 compared to 3.189 billion euros a year ago.
Given the recent changes in pension regulations, the bank transferred 399 million euros to the government; the rest amount went to cover the increased pension reserves.
The German finance ministry had included 2.5 billion euros in central bank profits in the 2016 budget proposal. However, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that despite the difference of 2.1 billion euros, there will not be budget deficit in 2017. According to the ministry, Germany is unlikely to post budget deficit by the end of the year, so no measures will be taken.
Jens Weidmann, President of the Bundesbank, said that the bank raised its risk provisions by 1.8 billion euros to 15.4 billion euros at the end of 2016.
The most part of the Bundesbank’s profits were interest rate income of 3.704 billion euros versus 3.26 billion euros in 2015. The net interest income came in at 3.319 billion euros from 2.229 billion euros due to negative interest rates on deposits. Total assets increased by 400 billion euros to 1.4 trillion euros. Over the past ten years, assets have more than tripled.
