KfW in 2025: Strong promotional year and stable profitability

• Chief Executive Officer Stefan Wintels: Result enables strong support for Germany as a business location
• With its new business from the past year, KfW is promoting 750,000 housing units, 137,000 businesses and 35,000 start-ups
• Economic result of EUR 2.0 billion just below the previous year’s level (2024: EUR 2.1 billion)
• Core business in domestic promotion increased by around one third year on year to EUR 61.0 billion – new business for SMEs and start-ups increased by more than 75 percent

In the 2025 financial year, KfW once again demonstrated its high level of economic reliability in difficult economic and geopolitical times.

“KfW is a stable constant on which the German economy and society as a whole can rely,”

said Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW, at the press conference on annual results in Frankfurt.

“Our high risk-bearing capacity and robust earnings position will once again enable us to provide important impetus for strengthening Germany's competitiveness.”

In the past year, KfW Group achieved an economic result (consolidated earnings before IFRS effects, promotional expense and taxes) of EUR 2.0 billion, which was almost equal to the previous year's figure (2024: EUR 2.1 billion). The profit was EUR 1.0 billion, down from EUR 1.4 billion in the previous year. The downturn was largely due to negative IFRS effects from hedging derivatives, which tend to offset over time.

The regulatory capital ratios at year-end 2025 were 27.7 percent for both the total capital ratio and for the (common equity) tier 1 capital ratio. This means that KfW is very well capitalised and has sufficient buffer to actively promote Germany as an economic centre.

“The earnings position was very satisfactory despite the ongoing challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic environment,”

said Bernd Loewen, Chief Financial Officer of KfW.

"Profit met our expectations. Excluding the inherently volatile IFRS effects, consolidated earnings were on a par with the previous year."

With its financing and promotion commitments in the new business of 2025, KfW is reaching 137,000 companies worldwide. The bank supports an estimated ten percent of all German SMEs that take out a loan in any one year. With its new business, KfW also supports 35,000 start-ups with financial resources as well as advice on their path to self-sufficiency. This means that around ten percent of all start-ups in Germany that rely on external financing receive financial support from KfW.

“The importance of a strong SME segment for the German economy cannot be overestimated at all,”

said Wintels.

"We need more entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. As a bank committed to responsibility, KfW is ready to support both young and established companies, and thereby strengthen the German economy."

KfW has not lost sight of climate action. The bank is providing intensive support for the conversion to renewable energies. With KfW's new business in 2025, for example, an additional 11,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity from renewables are being installed worldwide. 59 percent of this output is being provided in Germany, a further eight percent in the rest of Europe. More than 25 percent of the remaining output is distributed between Asia and to a lesser extent North and South America and Africa.

Improved access to adequate and energy-efficient housing is also a key topic for KfW. Among other things, the bank supports the purchase of owner-occupied housing, the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing buildings and the installation of new heating systems through numerous promotional programmes. With its new business from last year, KfW is promoting 750,000 housing units in Germany.

Promotional business grew significantly in 2025

KfW looks back on a strong 2025: Compared to the previous year, its core business in domestic promotion with loans and grants increased significantly by a good third to EUR 61.0 billion (2024: EUR 45.8 billion). All segments developed very positively: Funding for SMEs and start-ups amounted to EUR 23.5 billion (2024: EUR 13.4 billion). Private customers accounted for EUR 25.5 billion (2024: EUR 22.4 billion). Promotion for public-sector clients and customised finance amounted to EUR 11.2 billion (2024: EUR 8.4 billion).

Including transactions directly commissioned by the German Federal Government (mandated transactions), KfW’s domestic promotion came to EUR 62.0 billion (2024: EUR 79.0 billion)., In the previous year, mandated transactions of EUR 33.2 billion, for example for securing the energy supply and for investments in energy infrastructure, significantly increased the volume of new domestic business.

In the export and project finance business sector, for which KfW IPEX-Bank is responsible, new commitment volumes totalled EUR 24.2 billion, exceeding the previous year's figure (2024: EUR 23.9 billion). The figure achieved is the same as the record level of 2023.

Promotion of developing countries and emerging economies reached a commitment volume of EUR 12.3 billion (2024: EUR 10.3 billion). KfW Development Bank accounted for EUR 10.0 billion (2024: EUR 7.8 billion). The KfW subsidiary DEG provided EUR 2.4 billion (2024: EUR 2.5 billion) for investments by private enterprises in developing countries and emerging economies.

KfW Capital, as a KfW subsidiary for investments in German and European venture capital and venture debt funds, committed around EUR 750 million last year (2024: EUR 1.6 billion). The downturn compared to the prior year was mainly due to one-off commitments for two facilities under the Future Fund amounting to a total of EUR 930 million in 2024.

A solid start to 2026: New business as of 28 February 2026 at EUR 11.7 billion

KfW started 2026 with new business totalling EUR 11.7 billion as at the end of February (02/2025: EUR 11.2 billion). The slight increase is mainly down to the domestic promotional business with a new commitment volume of EUR 8.5 billion (02/2025: EUR 7.6 billion).

The higher figure compared to the previous year was largely due to higher demand in the SME Bank & Private Clients business sector. Particularly, interest in the “Climate-friendly Construction” programme increased compared to the previous year, also as a result of the EH55 promotion introduced in December 2025. In addition, there was strong demand for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG), including the promotion of heating systems.

In the first two months of the year, the “Renewable Energies Standard” and “ERP Promotional Loan for SMEs” products performed particularly well at the SME Bank.

Export and project finance by KfW IPEX-Bank started the new year well with a commitment volume of EUR 2.9 billion (02/2025: EUR 3.2 billion). It thus continues to be a reliable financing partner on the side of the European and German economy.

Promotion for developing countries and emerging economies stood at EUR 322 million (02/2025: EUR 307 million). In mid-January, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) presented its reform plan. Cooperation is being intensified with emerging economies through loans to be repaid. This is where KfW Development Bank and its range of instruments come in. DEG was able to commit around EUR 100 million from its own funds in the first two months of 2026, which private companies use to make investments in emerging and developing countries (02/2025: EUR 72 million).

KfW Capital has already committed around EUR 101 million in the first two months of the year, including approximately EUR 45 million at its own risk and around EUR 56 million on behalf of the Future Fund. The venture capital funds are obliged to finance start-ups in Germany with at least the capital contributed by KfW. In 2025, the actual amount was many times higher – investors committed to around 4.8 times the amount contributed by KfW Capital. KfW Capital’s pipeline is already well filled for 2026.

Consolidated earnings in detail:

KfW Group’s profit was EUR 1.0 billion (2024: EUR 1.4 billion). The operating result (before valuation) reached the high level of the previous year at EUR 1.9 billion (2024: EUR 1.9 billion). This is due to the strongest performance of operating income (interest and commission income) since 2012.

Net interest income, which at EUR 3.0 billion also exceeded the previous year’s figure of EUR 2.9 billion, remains the main source of income. The positive development is mainly due to the higher returns on equity, the continued excellent refinancing opportunities and the successful growth strategy of export and project finance.

At EUR 685 million, net commission income exceeded the prior-year figure of EUR 675 million. This development was mainly characterised by higher commission income from export and project finance. Administrative expense increased by EUR 81 million to EUR 1.7 billion and includes one-off expenses for digitalisation and modernisation measures. As a result, the cost-to-income ratio rose slightly to 48 percent (2024: 46 percent).

Promotional expense – that is, the use of own funds for promotion – amounted to a high level of EUR 468 million. At EUR 421 million, interest reductions included in promotional expense reached the highest value since 2013 (2024: EUR 406 million). The inclusion of KfW’s commitment to digital education in the coming years – specifically through TUMO learning centres for children and young people – also increased promotional expense.

The positive valuation result was characterised by a positive equity investment result, which was countered to a lesser extent by burdens from credit risk provisions.

The risk provision result in lending was EUR -155 million (2024: EUR +39 million). The geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties led to net additions to general provisions. Specific valuation allowances, some of which were offset by recoveries from loans previously written-off, were recorded in particular in the domestic programme business and in export and project finance.

The investment portfolio contributed EUR 102 million to the positive valuation result (2024: EUR 149 million). This was mainly due to positive developments in fair value measurement (before foreign currency effects) at KfW Capital and DEG. Foreign currency exposures in the DEG portfolio had a counteracting effect as a result of the weaker US dollar, which was however cushioned by income from hedging transactions.

Purely IFRS-related valuation effects from derivatives used for hedging purposes reduced consolidated profit by EUR 356 million (2024: EUR +48 million).

Total assets fell by EUR 4.6 billion to EUR 540.7 billion (2024: EUR 545.4 billion) due in particular to the decline in the volume of lending. Repayments under the coronavirus special programme and reduced utilisation of the measures implemented for energy suppliers on behalf of the Federal Government contributed to this.

The regulatory capital ratios at year-end 2025 were 27.7 percent for both the total capital ratio and for the (common equity) tier 1 capital ratio. As announced last year, the ratios fell by around 2.5 percentage points year on year. This is due to the increase in the total risk amount, mainly due to the implementation of the more capital-intensive Capital Requirements Regulation III in the first quarter of 2025 (31 December 2024: total capital ratio of 30.3 percent; (common equity) tier 1 capital ratio of 30.2 percent).

KfW Annual Report online: Reporting Portal | KfW

Information about the press conference: Digital press portfolio for the 2026 press conference on annual results

^{1) The capital ratios stated take into account the eligible interim results according to Article 26 (2) of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), which deviate from the respective annual results in accordance with the IFRS.}