COVID-19 aid boosts KfW’s business volume to an all-time high
German development bank KfW’s promotional business reached a record high of €135.3 billion (+75%) in 2020.
The main drivers of the strong growth were the measures to mitigate the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany and abroad, which totalled €50.9 billion (after cancellations and waivers for commitments of €10.8 billion) and therefore made up 38% of the total business volume.
In Germany alone, KfW committed around one million loans, grants and other financings for a total amount of €106.4 billion last year. The promotional programmes in the area of energy-efficient construction and refurbishment, which in the housing segment recorded an increase by 140% to €26.8 billion, also contributed to the growth of promotional business volume in Germany. Commitments by KfW Capital amounted to €871 million in 2020.
At €16.6 billion, the commitment volume in the export and project finance business sector, which provides financing in the interests of the German and European economy, was significantly below the 2019 record level (€22.1 billion), but could be maintained at the level of the years before despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis on global trade.
In the priority area of Energy Efficiency & Renewables, which comprises programmes to support the German Federal Government’s climate targets, new commitments of €7.6 billion remained approximately at the prior-year level (2019: €8.1 billion). In particular, the increased commitment volume in KfW’s Renewable Energy Programme of €3.7 billion (2019: €2.9 billion) compensated for the discontinued Energy Efficiency Programme - Waste Heat (2019: €1 billion).
