the Bundesbank's staff costs and administrative expenses as well as the remaining expense items (column 6), is virtually unchanged on the year. To offset the accumulated losses, the provisions for general risks (column 7) were reduced by € million (2021: increased by € million) to € billion.
That of course raises questions about why more cardholders don’t take advantage of the lower rates that are on offer, whether there are obstacles to competition and whether there might be some role for regulatory action. Some cardholders might be unable to switch, for example if they have poor credit histories.