https://hdl.handle.net/10419/106950 2026-09-15T23:55:17Z 2026-09-15T23:55:17Z Berg, Tobias Lindner, Vincent Rößler, Denise https://hdl.handle.net/10419/338129 2026-03-21T05:40:50Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Payments, sovereignty, and critical infrastructure: The strategic case for the digital euro Authors: Berg, Tobias; Lindner, Vincent; Rößler, Denise Abstract: After years of investigation, the digital euro project has entered the legislative stage. Geoeconomic developments, especially the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the following regime of sanctions against Russia, as well as the economist-nationalist policies of the second Trump administration, have reinforced arguments for EU monetary and infrastructure sovereignty. At the same time, however, the digital euro project is under pressure from private solutions, stablecoins and the European Wero initiative that claim to provide similar benefits as the digital euro. While these may develop into useful tools for payments, they fail to provide the same features, such as universal acceptance and legal certainty, competitive neutrality, and - crucially - EU sovereign control over settlement infrastructure. This Policy Letter calls upon EU policymakers to reject the false dichotomy between private solutions and a public infrastructure and to make swift progress on the legislation and implementation of the digital euro.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Bauer, Kevin Franke, Lucia Gill, Andrej Langenbucher, Katja https://hdl.handle.net/10419/341103 2026-05-18T16:08:01Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Institutionalizing explainability in credit scoring Authors: Bauer, Kevin; Franke, Lucia; Gill, Andrej; Langenbucher, Katja Abstract: Machine learning credit scoring expands the informational frontier of retail lending, particularly for thin file borrowers, yet it also erodes the practical meaning of disclosure duties that anchor consumer protection and prudential oversight. The central financial implication is that explainability is no longer a peripheral communication task. It is a market structuring variable that can reshape access, pricing efficiency, competition, and the distribution of compliance burdens across incumbents and challengers. The central regulatory gap is that current regimes articulate rights and obligations but remain under specified on what constitutes a sufficient explanation, how fidelity can be verified, and how opportunistic framing can be prevented when explanation techniques permit multiple plausible narratives. The most effective policy response is institutional rather than purely technical, achieved by creating a governed intermediary layer that can translate proprietary model behavior into standardized consumer facing and supervisor facing disclosures while preserving legitimate confidentiality.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Bauer, Kevin Langenbucher, Katja https://hdl.handle.net/10419/341102 2026-05-18T16:08:01Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Agentic AI, corporate communication, and market integrity Authors: Bauer, Kevin; Langenbucher, Katja Abstract: Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in corporate communication with investors, including drafting disclosures, answering queries, and summarizing financial information. While these systems can improve the accessibility and efficiency of public corporate communication, they also create risks for market integrity, such as inaccurate statements, unintended disclosure of sensitive information, and unequal access through personalized responses. This paper argues that existing disclosure and market-abuse frameworks remain substantively adequate but require clearer operational expectations for AI-driven communication. AI outputs delivered through issuer-controlled channels should be treated as corporate communications attributable to the issuer. A risk-based regulatory approach should therefore require governance oversight, separation of public and confidential data, safeguards against manipulation, auditable records of AI outputs, and human oversight for market-sensitive communications. Properly governed, agentic AI can enhance investor access to public information while preserving the principles of accurate, timely, and equal disclosure.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Hillert, Alexander Rößler, Denise https://hdl.handle.net/10419/341403 2026-06-12T16:21:42Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The corporate perspective on the German fiscal stimulus package: Insights from earnings calls Authors: Hillert, Alexander; Rößler, Denise Abstract: How have top decision-makers at publicly listed German companies assessed the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SFICN) since its announcement? Based on a systematic text analysis of 1,204 earnings calls that took place between January 2024 and March 2026, we show that the announcement of the SFICN in March 2025 surprised executives and was immediately addressed in the earnings calls. Subsequently, the discussion stabilized at a moderate level: Since then, the SFICN has been discussed in about 13% of the earnings calls, lagging behind other macroeconomic factors such as tariffs. The assessment varies by sector: Financial, basic materials, and industrial companies view the program as relevant and predominantly positive, while assessments are more cautious in other industries, particularly among cyclical consumer goods firms.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z