jens weidmann : pressing ahead – priorities for 2013 speech by dr jens weidmann, president of the deutsche bundesbank, at the deutsche borse annual reception, eschborn, 21 january 2013. * 1. * * introduction dear mr faber, dear mr francioni, ladies and gentlemen, i am delighted to be invited to speak to you once again at deutsche borse ’ s annual reception. first of all, i have some good news to impart : the end of the world, announced for the latter part of december, proved not to be. which is further demonstration of just how difficult longterm forecasting is. but now another disaster looms : a year with the number 13 in it. whilst the number 12 is associated with harmony and completeness, 13 has a harder time of it. for many, the number spells disharmony and is a harbinger of misfortune. many aeroplanes have no 13th row, and floor 13 is frequently missed out in high - rise buildings in the united states. however, it may interest you to know that the deutsche bundesbank ’ s executive board meetings are held on the 13th floor. superstition about numbers appears to have passed us by. and that is just as it should be, because central bankers do well to maintain a rational relationship with numbers. figures, data, statistics, balance sheets and the like are our daily bread. that applies to central bankers just as it does to stock exchange traders and other financial market experts. what we also have in common is that we are interested both in the figures that describe past economic events and in those which enable us to glimpse into the future. although forecasts and expectations are by their very nature uncertain, they nonetheless provide a basis for important decisions “ not only do expectations about policy matter, but (... ) very little else matters. ” these words about monetary policy from macroeconomist michael woodford point up the importance of expectations in the economy. and ultimately these expectations come to be traded on the stock exchange. deutsche borse ’ s annual reception is therefore a perfect occasion to review the past year and then to take a look at expectations for the new year. let me begin with our host : for deutsche borse ag, 2012 was an eventful and not entirely harmonious year. with the plans to merge with nyse euronext having come to nothing, deutsche borse now needs to focus on growing organically. but

the digital euro : how cbdc can shape tomorrow ’ s payments landscape keynote at the school of economics 30. 06. 2023 | cape town | burkhard balz check against delivery. 1 introduction 2 why are we considering issuing a digital euro? 3 the “ recipe for success ” for a digital euro 3. 1 broad usability, without unwanted side effects 3. 2 well - thought - out implementation at the front - end 3. 3 future - proof concept, enabling new business opportunities 3. 4 a solid legal framework 3. 5 collaboration of all stakeholders 4 conclusion 1 introduction ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, i am delighted to be here with you today at this esteemed university in beautiful cape town. i am looking forward to discussing with you a topic of immense significance that may be shaping the future of our financial systems – central bank digital currencies, or in short : cbdcs. the idea of cbdc is far from new. but only in the last few years, the theoretical concept has gained traction, with central banks entering into more practical experiments and prototyping. why is that? in recent years, the financial landscape has been undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by technological advancements and changing consumer preferences. cashless payments are becoming increasingly popular, new digital payment solutions are emerging, and providers of innovative payment services have entered the scene. with digital payments on the rise, central banks – as the sole issuers of public money – need to respond adequately to these new challenges, as they relate to our statutory mandate to ensure safe and efficient payments. a key development in this regard is the growing interest in cbdcs among central banks around the world. cbdcs are basically digital representations of a nation ’ s fiat currency, issued by the central bank. that distinguishes them from crypto - assets, such as bitcoin, sometimes also referred to as “ cryptocurrencies ”. however, we do not use this term, mainly because these assets are unable to serve as a store of value due to their high level of volatility. around the globe, central banks are initiating projects with the aim of issuing their own cbdc. the goal is not to introduce another separate currency, but to create a new, digital form of central bank money in existing currency areas. while a few countries have already launched a cbdc, other central banks are at the stage of piloting theirs, most prominently in china. a survey by the bank for international settlements