Deutsche Bundesbank

central bank of issue of the Federal Republic of Germany, founded in 1957 through a merger of the Bank Deutscher Länder (Bank of the German Lands) with the central banks of each Land (state).

The Deutsche Bundesbank is the successor to the Reichsbank, Germany’s central bank of issue between 1875 and 1945, which was in fact controlled by the state. In late 1946 a central bank was established in each Land on the basis of previous branches of the Reichsbank; from 1948 this system of banks of issue was headed by the Bank Deutscher Lander. The latter had no branches and conducted credit operations through the central bank of each Land. This two-tiered system of issuance existed in the Federal Republic of Germany until the formation of the Deutsche Bundesbank.

The Deutsche Bundesbank’s capital of 290 million marks belongs to the state. The bank has a monopoly on the issuance of bank notes, carries out transactions in gold and foreign currencies, conducts the cash operations of the state budget, and extends credit to governmental and international organizations. Its main office is in Frankfurt am Main.

As of late November 1973, the bank’s gold and currency reserves were 98.2 billion marks, including 14.0 billion marks in gold and 70.6 billion marks in US dollars. The bank had extended 2.5 billion marks in credit to international organizations and another 10.7 billion marks in discounted notes. The bank’s total liability of 135.4 billion marks included 47.6 billion marks in bank notes and 68.7 billion marks in deposits; 53.2 billion marks of the latter sum represented deposits by credit institutions.