The remaining distributable profit of € billion will today be transferred to the Federal Finance Minister and used for budgetary financing. The Bundesbank’s profit is higher due, in particular, to the rise in deposits of credit institutions on the liabilities side of our balance sheet. As you are aware, we currently charge a negative interest rate of –0.4% for these deposits.
By contrast, given the current low-interest-rate environment, there is de facto no interest income on the assets side. This applies, in particular, to our bond purchases. This means that our usual income situation has been reversed. In “normal times” it is the assets which generate income, notably refinancing operations with banks.