The title of the event was “Inflation Update – Here to Stay?”. The keynote speaker at the event was Dr. Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank and member of the ECB Governing Council. In his presentation, he addressed inflation and its future trajectory in light of the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, as well as the ECB’s options for countering it. “High inflation will not disappear overnight,” Nagel said in his speech. Experts at Deutsche Bank continued to expect a rate of over 7% in the coming year. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye on trends, particularly with regard to the threat of a wage-price spiral. Nagel does not consider a shift away from globalization to be sensible in this context; on the contrary, a shift toward deglobalization could further fuel inflation.

The primary goal of monetary policy is therefore, in principle, to halt inflation and bring it back down. With the interest rate hikes already implemented, further planned rate increases, and various other measures taken by the European Central Bank, Nagel believes the right path has been taken. In this context, he also considers it important to minimize the public’s experience of inflation as much as possible in order to avoid future negative effects on people’s thinking and behavior. He concludes his speech by saying: “Hopefully, however, it (inflation) will not leave any lasting scars, but will be remembered as an exceptional situation that was brought back into balance in time thanks to the right monetary policy.”

The full speech can be read on the Deutsche Bundesbank website. The event was attended by approximately 65 invited guests from the business and political communities, who also participated in a discussion on the topic following the speech. The thoroughly successful evening concluded with a get-together featuring culinary delights from the local Michelin-starred restaurant “Schwitzer’s” in Waldbronn. Consulting4IT’s Academy and Event division provided a suitable setting for the entire event and was very well received by both organizers and guests.