First quarter of 2022:

• Significant increase in KfW promotional business volume to EUR 41.0 billion (EUR 24.5 billion)
• Strong growth in domestic promotion to EUR 36.8 billion (EUR 19.7 billion)
• Export and project finance encouragingly at the previous year’s level of EUR 3.3 billion
• Consolidated earnings of EUR 60 million despite conservative risk provisioning due to war
• Very robust risk-bearing capacity unchanged with equity of EUR 34.6 billion and an increased tier 1 ratio of 24.9 %

In the first three months of 2022, the promotional business volume of KfW Group was EUR 41.0 billion, which significantly exceeded the figure for the same period of the previous year (03/2021: EUR 24.5 billion). Domestic promotion posted particularly strong growth with a commitment volume of EUR 36.8 billion (03/2021: EUR 19.7 billion). In addition to the generally high demand, there was a strong impact from the commitments of the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG) programme totalling EUR 16.8 billion. Furthermore, short-term financing assistance helped safeguard the liquidity of energy supply companies (EUR 7.5 billion). Commitments in the domestic coronavirus aid programmes continued to fall to around EUR 1.7 billion (03/2021: EUR 3.8 billion).

To support municipalities house refugees from Ukraine, KfW established the special refugee facilities programme in March and increased it to EUR 500 million. In addition, KfW signed a loan agreement of EUR 150 million to support Ukrainian SMEs and cushion the consequences of war. The UBR Special Programme also started in the second quarter under the aegis of the German Federal Government in order to provide liquidity in the short term for German companies affected by the Ukraine war.

“The war in Ukraine is a humanitarian disaster and is having considerable, numerous and long-term consequences. KfW acted quickly and set up a programme for municipalities to accommodate refugees, which was very well received. We have been working very intensively with the German Federal Government for weeks to tackle the consequences of the war and support the necessary transformation of the German economy," said Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW.

The KfW Capital business sector generated a total commitment volume of EUR 43 million (03/2021: EUR 74 million). The now approx. EUR 30 million lower volume of fund investments made is due to the fluctuations in commitments during the year that are common in the fund business.

At EUR 3.3 billion, the commitment volume in export and project finance was almost at the previous year’s level (03/2021: EUR 3.4 billion).

At EUR 0.6 billion, commitments at KfW Development Bank were slightly below the previous year’s level (03/2021: EUR 0.9 billion). In the same period of the previous year, individual loans contributed to the high volume. In view of a modest business environment at the beginning of the year, which was marked by the consequences of the Ukraine war, DEG commitments amounted to EUR 0.1 billion in the first quarter (03/2021: EUR 0.2 billion).

After EUR 569 million in the first quarter of 2021, KfW’s consolidated profit fell significantly to EUR 60 million in the first three months of 2022. This was largely due to the negative impact of the Ukraine war on the valuation result (EUR -391 million). When assessing the Russia-Ukraine portfolio, KfW included both direct and indirect exposures.

The operating result before valuation (before promotional expense) at EUR 442 million was nearly at the previous year’s level (03/2021: EUR 468 million). At EUR 616 million (03/2021: EUR 658 million), net interest income (before promotional expense), which declined due to the low-interest environment, continues to be the main source of income for the group. Net commission income of EUR 174 million (before promotional expense) exceeded the prior-year amount of EUR 149 million. The main reason for this was the increase in remuneration in connection with agency business for the Federal Government. At EUR 348 million (03/2021: EUR 339 million), administrative expense (before promotional expense) was lower than expected, as typical for this period of the financial year.

Promotional expense totalled EUR 100 million, up significantly on the previous year (03/2021: EUR 22 million). This was due, in particular, to the increased possibilities of a programme-specific use of interest rate reductions after passing on the negative funding cost to the financing partners from the second half of 2021.

Risk provisions in lending totalled EUR -188 million (03/2021: EUR 60 million) and is marked by net expenses from individual loan loss provisions in the Russia-Ukraine exposure. Furthermore, in connection with macroeconomic developments resulting from the war, an additional latent provision was formed to account for the general uncertainty.

Likewise, the valuation result from the investment portfolio of EUR - 134 million (03/2021: EUR 181 million) reflects the consequences of the war. The charges arose in particular in the DEG (EUR -85 million) and Financial Cooperation (EUR -68 million) business sectors as part of a conservative approach to the reporting date valuation of investments with a direct and indirect connection to Russia and Ukraine.

Purely IFRS-related effects from the valuation of derivatives used for hedging purposes contributed to the result in the amount of EUR 88 million (03/2021: EUR -75 million).

At EUR 554.7 billion, total assets were slightly above the level of 31 December 2021 (EUR 551.0 billion), primarily due to a rise in net lending.

With a total capital ratio of 25.0% and a (common equity) tier 1 capital ratio of 24.9% (31/12/2021: both 23.9%), the regulatory capital ratios remained at a very good level.

“Despite the conservative risk provisioning in the first quarter, KfW reported positive consolidated profit and higher capital ratios. In view of the difficult underlying conditions as well as the tasks ahead of us, this is very important,” said Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW. “In view of this situation, it is encouraging to see the very high demand for promotional funds in Germany, which is marked by two non-recurring effects: First, there is the flood of applications under the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings scheme. KfW very much welcomed the provision of further budget funds and the three-stage plan for new construction promotion. Second, the financing of liquidity lines for energy suppliers due to extreme price fluctuations on the energy markets, which is a key contribution to market stability and energy security.”

Details on the business sectors’ promotional activities

1. SME Bank and Private Clients

As of 31 March 2022, the SME Bank and Private Clients business sector achieved a promotional business volume of EUR 26.2 billion, which was significantly above the prior-year level (03/2021: EUR 17.0 billion). Of this total, EUR 12.8 billion was attributable to the SME Bank commercial segment (03/2021: EUR 6.1 billion).

SME Bank: Start-ups and corporate investment

At EUR 4.6 billion, the start-up and corporate investment priority area achieved a slightly higher promotional business volume than in the prior-year period (03/2021: EUR 4.3 billion). Demand for the coronavirus aid programmes at EUR 1.6 billion was significantly lower (03/2021: EUR 3.4 billion). However, almost all other programmes in this priority area showed a higher commitment volume than in the prior-year period. In particular, the ERP Promotional Loan for SMEs launched at the beginning of the year was well received with a volume of EUR 1.3 billion.

SME Bank: Climate change and the environment

New commitments in the priority area of climate change and the environment were at a very high level of EUR 7.5 billion (03/2021: EUR 1.6 billion). The main driver here was the very high demand for the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG), which accounted for EUR 5.0 billion of the promotional business volume. In addition, the KfW Renewable Energies Programme also achieved a significant increase in demand at EUR 2.1 billion (03/2021: EUR 0.8 billion).

SME Bank: Innovation

In the priority area of innovation, new commitments rose to EUR 0.6 billion (03/2021: EUR 0.2 billion). The commitments were generated in the ERP Digitalisation and Innovation Loan.

The Private Clients segment achieved a promotional business volume of EUR 13.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022 (03/2021: EUR 10.9 billion). The main driver in this segment was also the high level of commitments in Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings, which accounted for EUR 11.4 billion of the promotional business volume. Due to the very high demand at the beginning of the year, the available federal funds were already exhausted towards the end of January, meaning that the programme family was subject to an application and commitment freeze as of 24 January 2022. Following an increase in funding by the Federal Government, the commitment activity for the refurbishment of existing properties was resumed from 22 February 2022. New construction funding restarted on 20 April 2022. Due to the massive demand, the federal funds budgeted for this purpose were exhausted within a few hours. As part of the three-staged concept by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, new construction funding for buildings with a sustainability certificate thus started on 21 April 2022.

Private Clients: Energy efficiency and energy

With a commitment volume of EUR 11.4 billion, the priority area of energy efficiency and energy was significantly higher than in the same period of the previous year (03/2021: EUR 8.0 billion).

Private Clients: Homes and living

The promotional business volume in the area of residential and housing decreased to EUR 1.5 billion, compared with the prior-year period (03/2021: EUR 2.4 billion). Almost all programmes in this priority area reduced their volume due to, among other things, the full utilisation of promotional funds.

Private Clients: Education

An amount of EUR 0.5 billion was committed in the education priority area (03/2021: EUR 0.6 billion). The slight decline was due to lower commitments in the KfW Student Loan (03/2022: EUR 0.14 billion, 03/2021: EUR 0.27 billion), which still had supported more students in 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis.

2. Customised finance & Public clients

The Customised finance & Public clients business sector generated a commitment volume of approx. EUR 10.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022. New business was therefore significantly above the comparable figure for the previous year (03/2021: EUR 2.7 billion).

Customised finance Corporates

In Customised finance Corporates, a very high commitment volume of EUR 7.5 billion (03/2021: EUR 0.2 billion) was achieved. A key driver here was short-term liquidity lines on behalf of the Federal Government to secure the liquidity of energy supply companies in the wake of sharply rising energy prices.

Municipal and social infrastructure

The volume of business for municipal and social infrastructure was significantly higher than in the previous year, with new commitments exceeding EUR 1.4 billion (03/2021: EUR 1.0 billion). The increase was due in particular to the brisk utilisation of the federal funding programme to promote efficient buildings for municipalities, launched in summer 2021, and the increased demand in the Digital Infrastructure Investment Loan.

Individual financing for banks and promotional institutions of the federal states

With a business volume of over EUR 1.7 billion, individual financing for banks and promotional institutions of the federal states was able to exceed the previous year’s figure (03/2021: EUR 1.5 billion). Much of this was due to the encouraging increase in commitments for refinancing loans to promotional institutions of the federal states.

3. KfW Capital

Commitments by the KfW Capital business sector amounted to around EUR 43 million as at the first quarter of 2022 (03/2021: EUR 74 million). KfW Capital committed around EUR 42 million to VC funds through the two programmes “ERP-VC-Fund Investments” and “ERP/Future Fund-Growth Facility” (03/2021: EUR 57 million; additionally: around EUR 1 million to High Tech Start-up Fund II). The lower volume of the fund investments made can be attributed to typical variations throughout the year in commitments in fund business; as planned, the investment pipeline is well filled to the end of the year. With the support of the ERP Special Fund and the German Future Fund, KfW Capital invests in European VC funds, which in turn finance start-ups and innovative technology companies in Germany with at least the capital contributed by KfW Capital.

4. KfW IPEX-Bank

KfW IPEX-Bank, which is responsible for the Export and project finance business sector and provides financing to support German and European businesses in global markets, is also feeling the ongoing effects of the coronavirus crisis on the global economy, such as continued disrupted supply chains: New commitments at EUR 3.3 billion remained at the previous year’s level (03/2021: EUR 3.4 billion). All sector departments contributed to new business, most notably the Financial Institutions, Trade & Commodity Finance sector departments at EUR 1.0 billion (03/2021: EUR 0.5 billion) and Industry & Services at EUR 0.9 billion (03/2021: EUR 0.5 billion). This included, in particular, financing of fibre-optic projects, which underlines the Bank’s strong commitment to the expansion of digital infrastructure.

5. Promotion of developing countries and emerging economies

KfW Development Bank

At EUR 608 million, commitments in the KfW Development Bank business sector in the first three months were down on the same quarter of the previous year (03/2021: EUR 925 million), but significantly higher than in the first quarter of 2020. In the early months of 2021, the funding volume was higher due to some large individual commitments. Financing to tackle the pandemic and its economic consequences again accounted for a large share of the commitments. Serious consequences of the Ukraine war for some developing countries, especially regarding food security in states in North and East Africa and the Middle East, are already foreseeable.

DEG

In the first quarter of 2022, the DEG business sector committed EUR 139 million for business investments in emerging and developing countries (03/2021: EUR 249 million). In view of the Ukraine war and its knock-on effects, it expects an overall challenging business environment in 2022. For Africa, it was able to provide more investments than in the same period of the previous year, at EUR 74 million (03/2021: EUR 34 million), including for telecommunications. More than a third of the financing was destined for Latin America, to finance the production of green electricity, for example. DEG continues to support its customers in managing the coronavirus pandemic with customised promotional and advisory services.

6. Financial markets

For the green bond portfolio, the Financial markets business sector invested in securities to promote climate action and environmental protection projects with a volume of around EUR 126 million in the first quarter of 2022. As a result, the promotional portfolio volume was EUR 2,271 million as at the reporting date.

KfW raised funds of EUR 37.5 billion in the international capital markets to fund its promotional business during this period (03/2021: EUR 31.9 billion). The majority (67 %) of the funding took place in euros. KfW also issued bonds in eight other currencies, including USD (14 %) and GBP (10 %). At the end of the first quarter, KfW had already achieved around 46 % of its planned funding of EUR 80 to 85 billion for the whole of 2022. This enabled KfW to successfully fund itself on the capital market despite the very volatile market environment and geopolitical crises.

¹⁾ The capital ratios stated take into account the eligible interim results according to Art. 26 (2) of the Capital Requirements Regulation, which deviate from the respective annual results according to IFRS.

An overview of the business and promotional figures is available in table form at: Business and Promotional Figures | KfW

KfW Annual Report online: www.kfw.de/berichtsportal