NRW.BANK extends promotional funds of 11.8 billion euros and holds 49,700 advisory sessions in 2023

In the promotional field “Housing”, NRW.BANK achieved a volume of new commitments of 3.8 billion euros (2022: € 2.9 billion; +29%). Most importantly, public housing promotion of the federal state and of NRW.BANK reached a record level. The volume of new commitments climbed to 2.1 billion euros. This means that almost twice as many funds were approved as in the previous year (€ 1.1 billion). Not only the promotion volume was higher than in previous years, but the number of subsidised homes also increased. A total of 10,880 flats and places in nursing homes were subsidised (2022: 7,336 housing units).

Public housing promotion conditional on low income thresholds is complemented by NRW.BANK’s home ownership programmes, which are also accessible to higher income groups (NRW.BANK.Wohneigentum, taxable household income increased to 140,000 euros for a family of four in March 2023) or have no income restriction at all and focus on sustainability (NRW.BANK.Gebäudesanierung and NRW.BANK.Nachhaltig Wohnen). All three programmes were adjusted in 2023 with a noticeable effect. After interest rates had been further reduced, maximum promotion amounts increased or cancelled altogether, even longer and further maturities introduced and follow-up financing made possible in September, demand under all three programmes increased significantly. Consequently, the months from September onwards accounted for 80% of the annual volume of 93.0 million euros.

There was also a noticeable effect on the NRW.BANK.Nachhaltig Wohnen programme at the end of December. When no more funds under the national KfW programme promoting the construction of climate-friendly new homes were available in December, NRW.BANK temporarily reduced its interest rate by a total of 300 basis points. As a result, the volume reached in 2023 increased more than fivefold in the first one and a half months of 2024 - in the period from December 27, 2023 to February 19, 2024 (announcement of the resumption of the KfW programme) it amounted to 154.4 million euros. For comparison: The total volume in 2023 was 27.9 million euros.

As of 2024, further relief is being granted in the promotional field “Housing”: In the period from 2024 to 2027, the previously applicable administrative cost contribution will not be charged for two years for public housing promotional loans.

NRW.BANK’s funding rests on solid ground and ensures that the Bank is largely budget-independent. Almost 25 percent of the funding is meanwhile provided by Green and Social Bonds. In the promotional year 2023, NRW.BANK issued one Green Bond and two Social Bonds. The promotional bank started issuing the latter in 2020 and has since issued eight bonds with a total volume of just over 5 billion euros. It uses the Social Bonds to refinance investments that help to create or preserve jobs, to facilitate home ownership for low and medium-income families and to finance hospitals, especially university hospitals, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Green Bonds have been issued by NRW.BANK since 2013, when the Bank was the first promotional bank in Europe to issue such bonds. To date, the Bank has issued 14 Green Bonds with a total volume of around 8 billion euros. They are primarily used to fund climate protection and climate impact adaptation projects. Each of these bonds allows carbon savings of between 1 and 4 million tons.

As of December 31, 2023, total assets amounted to 161.3 billion euros (2022: € 159.9 billion), while the operating result stood at 568.4 million euros (2022: € 334.0 million). Equity capital as defined in the German Commercial Code (HGB) remained unchanged at 18.0 billion euros and the CET-1 capital ratio amounted to 42.5 percent (2022: 44.0%). This means that NRW.BANK was able to continue the stable trend of the past years.