johannes beermann : annual accounts 2020 speech by dr johannes beermann, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the press conference presenting the annual report 2020 of the deutsche bank, virtual, 3 march 2021. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i would now like to take this opportunity to present the bundesbank ’ s annual accounts for 2020 in a little more detail. you will also find all the figures in the annual report, which contains the bank ’ s balance sheet and profit and loss account as well as notes thereon, starting on page 43. and as always, we will be happy to take any questions you may have afterwards. with that in mind, i would like to focus my attention on a small number of standout points in our annual accounts. let us first take a look at the bundesbank ’ s balance sheet for 2020. in a reflection of the bank ’ s monetary and foreign exchange policy operations, total assets grew considerably in 2020, expanding by €747 billion, or 42 %. not only is the growth rate potentially record - setting, but the figure of €2, 527 billion in total assets is €685 billion higher than the previous all - time high of €1, 842 billion reached in 2018. looking at the medium - term picture spanning the past five years, the bundesbank ’ s total assets are currently up by €1. 5 trillion, or 150 %, compared with five years ago ( end - 2015 ). on the assets side, the main reason for the increase in total assets in 2020 was lending related to monetary policy operations. this item recorded growth of €265. 6 billion, owing not least to the tltro - iii operations offered to credit institutions at particularly favourable terms since the end of june in response to the coronavirus crisis. however, holdings of euro - denominated securities resulting from purchases made under the monetary policy asset purchase programmes also expanded significantly, with growth of €221. 0 billion due, in particular, to the temporary pandemic emergency purchase programme, or pepp. liquidity inflows from other european countries were the third factor contributing to balance sheet growth, reflected in an increase of €240. 8 billion in the target2 claim on the ecb to a total of €1, 136. 0 billion. the target2 claim has thus risen by 27 % over the past 12 months. on the liabilities side of the balance sheet

ben s bernanke : semiannual monetary policy report to the congress testimony by mr ben s bernanke, chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, before the committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs, us senate, washington, dc, 17 july 2012. * * * chairman johnson, ranking member shelby, and other members of the committee, i am pleased to present the federal reserve ’ s semiannual monetary policy report to the congress. i will begin with a discussion of current economic conditions and the outlook before turning to monetary policy. the economic outlook the u. s. economy has continued to recover, but economic activity appears to have decelerated somewhat during the first half of this year. after rising at an annual rate of 2 – 1 / 2 percent in the second half of 2011, real gross domestic product ( gdp ) increased at a 2 percent pace in the first quarter of 2012, and available indicators point to a still - smaller gain in the second quarter. conditions in the labor market improved during the latter part of 2011 and early this year, with the unemployment rate falling about a percentage point over that period. however, after running at nearly 200, 000 per month during the fourth and first quarters, the average increase in payroll employment shrank to 75, 000 per month during the second quarter. issues related to seasonal adjustment and the unusually warm weather this past winter can account for a part, but only a part, of this loss of momentum in job creation. at the same time, the jobless rate has recently leveled out at just over 8 percent. household spending has continued to advance, but recent data indicate a somewhat slower rate of growth in the second quarter. although declines in energy prices are now providing some support to consumers ’ purchasing power, households remain concerned about their employment and income prospects and their overall level of confidence remains relatively low. we have seen modest signs of improvement in housing. in part because of historically low mortgage rates, both new and existing home sales have been gradually trending upward since last summer, and some measures of house prices have turned up in recent months. construction has increased, especially in the multifamily sector. still, a number of factors continue to impede progress in the housing market. on the demand side, many would - be buyers are deterred by worries about their own finances or about the economy more generally. other prospective homebuyers cannot obtain mortgages due to tight lending standards, impaired creditworth