The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as it has prompted millions of people to turn to cashless payments. But, efforts to create CBDCs is nothing new. Central banks have been exploring how CBDCs could become a reality since Facebook’s efforts to launch its own cryptocurrency Libra raised the prospect of a private company competing with traditional currencies.
Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion with Burkhard Balz, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, about CBDC trends in Europe.
Burkhard Balz has been a member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank since September 2018. Prior to this, he was a member of the European Parliament (CDU) and served as the EPP Group’s Coordinator on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs starting in 2014. Before his time in the European Parliament, Mr. Balz was Head of the Department for Institutional Clients at Commerzbank AG from 2004 to 2009. He has also held the positions of Corporate Customer Advisor at Commerzbank AG (2002-2004) and Desk Officer at the Commerzbank AG Liaison Office to the European Union in Brussels (2001-2002). Mr. Balz graduated from the University of Göttingen with a degree in law and political science.
