Status: 03.11.2021 13:56
The most important German promotional bank KfW recovered from the Corona dent last year. The profits are bubbling up again.
KfW has significantly improved its result in the current year compared to the previous year. The profit of the development bank based in Frankfurt am Main could be increased roughly thirteenfold.
From January to September, the federally owned bank generated a profit of a good 1.93 billion euros. In the same period last year it was only 145 million euros. CEO Stefan Wintels, who has been in office since the beginning of October, spoke of an “exceptionally” good result in the first nine months. “KfW’s positive earnings trend in the first half of 2021 continued into the third quarter of 2021.” After the crisis year 2020, all operational business areas made above-average contributions to consolidated profit.
In the corresponding period of the previous year, the world’s largest national development bank was particularly hard hit by discounts on investments and additional risk provisioning for loans at risk of default. These effects are now reversed, as Wintels explained.
Decrease compared to 2020
The funding volume decreased in the first nine months compared to the exceptionally strong previous year from 109 to 73 billion euros. The main reason was the falling demand for Corona aid. Compared to 2019, however, the funding volume has increased significantly. At that time KfW included almost 54 billion euros in its books.
Funding programs for energy-efficient building are booming
In the first three quarters of this year, there was particularly strong demand in Germany for subsidy programs for energy-efficient construction. Among other things, the construction and purchase of energy-efficient houses and apartments is supported here. There are also loans for electricity and heat from photovoltaics, water, wind and biogas, among other things. Grants are also available for energy generation with fuel cells.
In addition, Wintel referred to the funding programs for digitization and innovation. “These challenges are enormous, but the economic goal is also clear. Essentially, it is about the sustainable restructuring of German industry and the long-term international competitiveness of our country.”
KfW does not have any customer deposits; it covers its capital requirements on the capital market, for example, by placing bonds there. These are guaranteed by the KfW law by the Federal Republic of Germany. The KfW securities thus have the best possible credit rating of AAA.