Business sector Financial markets in 2021

KfW Group bundles its long and short-term funding activities and its liquidity, currency, interest rate and asset management for the entire group in the business sector Financial markets. KfW funds its business activities almost completely in the international money and capital markets and is one of the world's most active and largest bond issuers.

Its reputation is based on its responsible behaviour and on the Federal Republic of Germany's explicit and direct guarantee (section 1a of the “Law Concerning KfW”: Federal Republic of Germany’s liability), which is reflected in high credit quality and forms the basis of an excellent financial rating. Outstanding sustainability ratings result from KfW's positioning as one of the leading sustainable promotional banks.

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In order to fund its promotional business, KfW raised funds of EUR 82.6 billion on the international capital markets in 2021. A total of 211 transactions were issued in 15 different currencies. Making up around 19.6% of the refinancing, 37 “Green Bonds – Made by KfW” (including top-ups) contributed EUR 16.2 billion, more than ever before. The share of bonds denominated in euros was 55% in 2021 (2020: 64%), and bonds denominated in US dollars accounted for 26% (2020: 24%), making this the second most important funding currency for KfW.

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“Green Bonds – Made by KfW” are strongly anchored in KfW's overarching capital market strategy; they form one of the four pillars of KfW’s funding. KfW has been issuing green bonds in different currencies since 2014, offering investors the opportunity to specifically combine the typical security and liquidity features of KfW bonds with promoting climate action and environmental protection.

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KfW ensures the liquidity of the entire KfW Group via the global money and capital markets. KfW is one of the world's most active players in the money market, particularly through its international commercial paper programmes, which serve short-term borrowing and are important for liquidity management for the entire group.

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KfW supported climate action and environmental protection by investing EUR 527 million in green bonds.

KfW expects a high volume of bond issues of between EUR 80 billion and EUR 85 billion in 2022. With respect to its green bonds, the bank anticipates issuing liquid large-volume green bonds in various currencies with a total volume of at least EUR 10 billion in 2022.

KfW's holding in Deutsche Telekom AG remained unchanged over the course of 2021 at around 829.2 million shares. This corresponded to 16.6% of the share capital of Deutsche Telekom AG as of 31 December 2021 (Federal Government 13.8% and free float 69.6%).

KfW's holding in Deutsche Post AG remained unchanged over the course of 2021 at 253.9 million shares. This corresponded to around 20.5% of the share capital of Deutsche Post AG as of 31 December 2021 (free float 79.5%).

Legal notice:
The information contained in this online Annual Report 2021 is based on KfW’s Financial Report 2021, which you can download here. Should this online Annual Report 2021, despite the great care taken in preparation of its content, contain any contradictions or errors compared to the Financial Report, the KfW Financial Report 2021 takes priority.