Inside the Bundesbank

The Bundesbank is one of the world's most powerful and successful central banks, outstanding for its independence in the conduct of monetary policy and for its success in the achievement of relative price stability virtually throughout the post-war era. This collection of essays by the President of the Bundesbank, by former and present Board members and by Heads of Department within the Bundesbank offer a rare inside insight into its operations. The individual contributions to this volume explain the historical, legal and institutional basis of German internal and external monetary policy and highlight the goals of the German central bank and its role in the economy as a whole. The role of the Deutschmark as one of the leading international transaction, reserve and investment currencies is discussed in detail. Students of monetary management and the banking community throughout the world will benefit greatly from a study of this unique volume. The Deutsche Bundesbank is one if the world's most powerful and successful central banks, outstanding for its independence in the conduct of monetary policy and for its success in the achievement of relative price stability virtually throughout the post-war era. This collection of essays by the President of the Bundesbank, by former and present board members and by heads of departments within the Bundesbank offer a rare insight into its operations from the inside. The individual contributions to this volume explain the historical, legal and institutional basis of German internal and external monetary policy and highlight the goals of the German central bank and its role in the economy as a whole. The functions of the Deutschmark as one of the leading investment currencies are discussed in some detail by the only non-Bundesbank contributor to this volume. Front Matter....Pages i-xxii The Bundesbank: Committed to Stability....Pages 1-10 Bundesbank Independence, Organisation and Decision-Making....Pages 11-19 German Monetary Unification: Domestic and External Issues....Pages 20-31 Monetary Policy: Targets and Instruments....Pages 32-44 Relations between the Bundesbank and the Federal Government....Pages 45-55 Banking Supervision: Who is Doing What?....Pages 56-67 Recollections of the German Treaty Negotiations of 1990....Pages 68-109 German Unification: A Personal View....Pages 110-119 Ethics and Morals in Central Banking: Do They Exist, Do They Matter?....Pages 120-138 The Evolution of the Deutsche Mark as an International Currency....Pages 139-173 Profiles of Bundesbank Presidents....Pages 174-180 Back Matter....Pages 181-188 Palgrave is an imprint of St. Martin's Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd. (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd.).