If this is to happen, the banks – the most important interface between capital and the real economy – need to be granted sufficient leeway. "Our banks require the necessary room for maneuver to be able to operate as they choose, instead of having their resources tied up by bureaucratic red tape," states Daniel Quinten, member of the BVR Board of Managing Directors. That is why the BVR is again calling for separate prudential requirements for regional banks ('second single rulebook'), as have long existed in many other highly developed economies. "We need a more flexible yet still robust set of rules instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. This is the only way to encourage economic growth while maintaining the high level of financial stability," adds Quinten.

The digital euro can strengthen European sovereignty if it builds on the existing structures of the banks and savings banks 
Another key discussion point in Washington is the debate about central bank digital currencies. The BVR supports the objective of the European Central Bank (ECB) in wanting the digital euro to contribute to European sovereignty in the payments processing sphere but warns of the perverse incentives in its current form. "The digital euro has the potential to be an important aspect of Europe's resilience, provided that it is designed correctly", emphasizes Tanja Müller-Ziegler, member of the BVR Board of Managing Directors. "True European sovereignty can only be achieved if all providers of the digital euro are subject to the same competitive terms." In the form currently being discussed, she says, the digital euro runs the risk of primarily appealing to payment service providers from outside Europe, which goes against the intended objective. "We are supporting this project of the Eurosystem. However, the digital euro must be simple and secure, and its integration into private-sector solutions must be possible," continues Müller-Ziegler.  
    
The BVR Board of Managing Directors is using the various discussions and events in Washington as an opportunity to present these standpoints in international discourse and to advocate for the idea of designing workable regulatory requirements and payments processing. 

BVR anticipates economic growth of 1.0 percent for Germany in 2026 – pressures at international level
The IMF is forecasting a small rise in Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.2 percent for 2025, whereas the BVR expects stagnation (0.0 percent). Following three consecutive years of no economic growth, the BVR believes that an increase in GDP is not realistic until 2026 (1.0 percent). This assessment is lower than the German government's prediction of 1.3 percent but is roughly in line with the IMF's expectation of 0.9 percent growth. An economic recovery next year is based on the assumption that spending on defense, infrastructure, and climate change mitigation will go up sharply and thereby boost demand in the economy as a whole. At the same time, private investment needs to be stepped up in order to strengthen the economy's growth potential. For this to be possible, the German government must forge ahead with its modernization agenda. The targeted 25 percent decrease in bureaucracy costs is an ambitious but important goal designed to ease the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises and increase willingness to invest and to start businesses. Further stimulus for private investment should also be provided by the improved asset depreciation rules. However, the German economy is also faced with uncertainty factors such as the security situation in Europe and US economic policy. The tariff agreement reached between the United States and the European Union at the end of July has brought only slightly more certainty regarding trade relations. There are also concerns about the sustainability of US fiscal policy and about a possible reduction in the Federal Reserve's independence. A further long-term increase in US government debt and a permanently expansive monetary policy approach could generate turmoil in financial markets, which would in turn have a detrimental effect on the German economy.