we can weigh the arguments and draw any conclusions. alternatives to cbdc ladies and gentlemen, page 8 of 10 deutsche bundesbank, directorate general communications wilhelm - epstein - strasse 14, 60431 frankfurt am main, germany, tel : + 49 ( 0 ) 69 9566 3511, fax : + 49 ( 0 ) 69 9566 3077 presse @ bundesbank. de, www. bundesbank. de reproduction permitted only if source is stated. looking at the future of payments, consumers ’ preferences and needs should be front and centre. the general public want quick, convenient, secure and cheap payment methods – including for payments abroad. that, however, does not necessarily require cbdc. of course, market failures could justify a larger role of the state. but in a market economy, offering innovative payment solutions to the public and interacting with customers should be a primary task of the private sector. central banks have to ensure that the payment system runs smoothly and they can act as a catalyst. this is why the eurosystem is supporting the “ european payments initiative ” launched by a group of 16 major euro area banks. this initiative is seeking to replace national schemes for cards, online and mobile payments with a unified card and digital wallet that can be used across europe. 12 beyond that, digitalisation will leave more and more processes fully automated. therefore, incorporating a programmable payment medium would be practical and relevant for smart contracts or machine - to - machine payments. to facilitate this idea, the bundesbank and the federal ministry of finance are co - chairing a group comprising representatives from the two institutions, the financial industry, and the real economy. i ’ m sure that private sector providers will be able to develop convenient and efficient applications for consumers and businesses. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12 european central bank ( 2020 ), ecb welcomes initiative to launch new european payment solution, press release, 2 july 2020. page 9 of 10 deutsche bundesbank, directorate general communications wilhelm - epstein - strasse 14, 60431 frankfurt am main, germany, tel : + 49 ( 0 ) 69 9566 3511, fax : + 49 ( 0 ) 69 9566 3077 presse @ bundesbank. de, www. bundesbank. de reproduction permitted only if source is stated. however, in the future, as today, recipients of large payments will prefer settlement in central bank money

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