Incidentally, these are also some of the characteristics which make for an extremely good debtor: reliability to repay your debt, punctuality to repay it on time and – maybe most important of all – exactitude to honour the debt and not accidentally forget all about it. In this respect, the Pfandbrief is indeed a typical German financial instrument.
It combines all of the virtues I mentioned and its global success shows that it is well-regarded throughout the world. I will offer some thoughts on the Pfandbrief later on. But first, let us take a look at the big picture, as central bankers like to do.