Record Profits for Allianz and Telekom Amid ECB's Renewed Loss

German corporations from the insurance and telecommunications sectors demonstrate extraordinary resilience to macroeconomic turbulence. Allianz, the largest insurer in the country, ended 2025 with a record operating profit of 17.4 billion euros, contributed to by a relatively low scale of natural disasters and strong operational results in the property insurance and asset management segments. A similar success was announced by Deutsche Telekom, which achieved historic revenues thanks to the dynamic expansion of its fiber-optic infrastructure and a strong position in the USA. The conglomerate plans that by 2030 its fiber-optic network will cover 25 million households, which is to become the foundation of Germany's digitalization. Since 2022, the European Central Bank has radically raised interest rates, which on one hand hit the balance sheets of central banks, but on the other helped quell record inflation triggered by the energy crisis.A completely different picture emerges from the financial report of the ECB. This institution has again closed the year in the red, meaning another lack of dividends for the Bundesbank. President Christine Lagarde emphasizes, however, that the losses are a side effect of the successful fight against inflation, which according to forecasts is stabilizing around the 2% target. Lagarde also pointed to the necessity of reducing internal barriers within the EU to strengthen the potential for economic growth, which despite geopolitical risks remains at a stable level consistent with market expectations. Despite general optimism in some industries, German industry faces structural problems. The automotive sector, a traditional engine of the economy, has announced a wave of collective layoffs resulting from the costly energy transition and weakening global demand. A counterbalance to these reports is the pharmaceutical and defense industry, where the company Hensoldt reports an unprecedented increase in orders related to the modernization of the Bundeswehr. Optimism is also returning to residential construction, where according to experts the bottom of the business cycle has already been reached, and railway investments financed from EU funds are expected to drive growth in the coming quarters.„L'economia della zona euro cresce oltre le attese, ma dobbiamo rimuovere le barriere interne per mantenere questo slancio.” (The eurozone economy is growing beyond expectations, but we must remove internal barriers to maintain this momentum.) — Christine Lagarde

Perspektywy mediów: Liberal and business media emphasize the record corporate profits as proof of the resilience of the German economic model. Conservative media focus on the record budget deficit and crisis in the automotive industry, predicting deindustrialization.