andreas dombret : the state of europe : end of the crisis or crisis without end? speech by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, to the federal reserve bank of dallas, dallas, 15 april 2014. * 1. * * introduction president fisher vice president wynne deputy consul general kroll mr heppe, american council on germany mr langenau, german american chamber of commerce ms colton, dallas committee on foreign relations ladies and gentlemen thank you for inviting me to speak at the federal reserve bank of dallas. it is a great pleasure to be here today. in fact, it feels a bit like coming home. and this is not only due to president fisher ’ s remark that the fed of dallas is the bundesbank of the united states. there are three further reasons why i feel at home over here. first, i was born in the united states and i still carry an american passport in addition to my german one. second, the state of texas has a rich german heritage. a heritage that finds its most vivid expression in the numerous oktoberfests that take place in texas every year – including the world - famous new braunfels wurstfest or “ 10 - day salute to sausage ”, to use the phrase with which it is promoted. third, the city of dallas is very familiar to many germans of my generation because in the 1980s, we all watched the tv series of the same name. but tv shows and bratwurst are not the only ties that bind the united states and germany. the connections between our countries are manifold and profound. these close connections are promoted and fostered by institutions such as the american council on germany or the atlantik - brucke, of which i happen to be treasurer. in times of crisis, mutual understanding and a trustful relationship are particularly important. and since 2007, we have lived through a succession of crises : a global financial crisis, a worldwide recession, a sovereign debt crisis in the euro area and, most recently, turbulence in some emerging markets. these episodes have once again underscored how closely interconnected the global economy has become. what drives growth and prosperity in good times can easily turn the other way in a crisis. in a globalised world, a problem at one side of the globe can quickly spread to the other side. to paraphrase winston churchill : “ a financial crisis gets halfway around the world before policymakers have a chance

burkhard balz : covid - 19 and cashless payments – has coronavirus changed europeans ’ love of cash? speech by mr burkhard balz, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the sme europe, virtual event, 21 october 2020. * * * ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for inviting me to this conference, and for giving me the opportunity to talk about a very virulent topic : the consequences of covid - 19 for payments. do you remember the term “ disruption ”? if i remember rightly, that was one of the biggest buzz words five years ago, when blockchain, fintech and platformication were the talk of the town. disruptive elements are still at play, of course, but we only really saw the true meaning of disruption this year. the threat of the pandemic forced people worldwide to totally change their day - to - day habits. many pleasurable activities that people had taken for granted suddenly became impossible : travelling to exciting places all over europe, going to nice restaurants, or meeting friends or family. public life as we knew it ground to a complete halt. this resulted in a dramatic economic downturn, with widespread insolvencies and unemployment cushioned, to a greater or lesser degree, by government support in many countries. this was truly “ disruptive ” in the worst possible sense of the word. however, there is a famous saying : every cloud has a silver lining. and indeed, we have observed some “ disruption ” in the positive sense of the term. the pandemic has facilitated and driven change. it has turned out to be a catalyst for digital transformation and thus an “ innovation accelerator ” for the economy. apart from getting used to face masks, for many people it was the first time they did their shopping online, the first time they had remote video conversations with colleagues, friends and family, and the first time they started to follow movie series via streaming services. this quantum leap in digitalisation has also seen a boom in cashless payments. on the one hand, this was a consequence of the uptick in online shopping. one indicator of this might be the rise in transactions which paypal registered worldwide in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter : its transactions increased from about 3. 26 billion to around 3. 74 billion. 1 the general decline in shopping activities makes these figures even more impressive. on the other hand, the shift