KfW IPEX-Bank: Focus on future technologies ensures stability in the 2021 financial year

KfW IPEX-Bank can look back on the 2021 financial year - the second year of the coronavirus pandemic - with overall satisfaction: it focused on helping existing customers to invest for the future and on structuring financing backed by good collateral, and so was able to issue new commitments totalling EUR 13.6 billion. As a result, KfW IPEX-Bank’s business operations remained stable, primarily thanks to its focus on supporting customers’ transformation.

“While there was a global recovery from the first year of coronavirus, some key sectors for our business were more strongly affected by the challenges of the pandemic than others,” said Klaus R. Michalak, CEO of KfW IPEX-Bank. “Despite these challenges, we are a reliable partner for German and European export companies and have provided lasting proof of this with new commitments totalling EUR 13.6 billion. Future technologies play a key role here – such as the expansion of digital infrastructure, which we supported with EUR 1 billion in 2021.”

New commitments and volume of lending

Of these new commitments, EUR 13.0 billion (2020: EUR 15.9 billion) related to original lending business and EUR 0.6 billion (2020: EUR 0.7 billion) to funds for bank refinancing under the CIRR ship financing, ERP CIRR export financing and Africa CIRR export financing programmes.

All of KfW IPEX-Bank’s sector departments made an important contribution to the bank’s result. The Power and Environment sector department recorded the most new commitments at EUR 2.6 billion, a large proportion of which was issued to energy transition projects. These projects underline KfW IPEX-Bank’s ambition to support global climate policy goals. The share of environmental protection and climate change mitigation projects, whose categorisation is subject to rigorous internal rules, totalled 15 per cent of new commitments across all sector departments.

The volume of lending of the Export and Project Finance business sector amounted to EUR 68.5 billion at year-end 2021 (previous year: EUR 67.5 billion).

Contribution to KfW’s consolidated earnings

The financial result of KfW’s Export and Project Finance business sector, which KfW IPEX-Bank manages, shows an even more positive picture: operating income before risk provisions and valuations of EUR 540 million, after offsetting a net positive result from risk provisions in lending business and valuations, enabled KfW IPEX-Bank to contribute EUR 622 million to the consolidated earnings of KfW. Therefore, despite the exceptional challenges posed by coronavirus, KfW IPEX-Bank remains a key source of earnings for KfW Group, and thus contributes to ensuring KfW’s long-term promotional capacity.

KfW IPEX-Bank KfW IPEX-Bank positions itself as a transformative bank

“In the future, we will focus our business activities even more strongly on the results of COP26 and on the goal of transforming the economy and society,” added Michalak. “This is underpinned by the sector guidelines which we implemented in 2021 and which define the framework for aligning KfW IPEX-Bank’s business in these sectors with the Paris targets. We remain ready and willing to support our customers and potential new customers proactively with a clear transformation roadmap.”

With the help of external consultants, a greenhouse gas accounting system is being established by working groups across KfW Group and thus within KfW IPEX-Bank. Implementation is scheduled for 2022, probably towards year-end. Furthermore, we remain committed to the Agenda 2030 adopted by the United Nations and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Information on our commitment to social responsibility and how this is implemented can be found here.

The entire 2021 Annual Report including the 2021 Corporate Governance Report can be found here:
2021 Annual Report of KfW IPEX-Bank