Business development

The volume of new special promotional loans granted in 2024 was EUR 3.6 billion, as compared to EUR 6.1 billion in the previous year. Promotional lending activity was affected most of all by general investment restraint on the part of agricultural enterprises. Another important factor was the high level of EU base interest rate, which caused a substantial decline in demand for credit, especially in the Renewable Energy promotional line because under the German Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG), investments can only be promoted by loans granted at unsubsidised interest rates. This effect was also felt in other promotional lines, especially Agribusiness and Food. The decrease in new promotional loans granted in the Agriculture promotional line was comparatively small. In the Rural Development line, the development banks of the German federal states took out fewer global loans for rural areas after the strong demand registered in the previous year. This development was also influenced by investment restraint in this sector.

To bolster innovation in Germany, Rentenbank continued to invest in venture capital funds in 2024, with a particular focus on ag-tech and food-tech.

The total volume of new promotional loans amounted to EUR 7.9 billion in the past financial year, which was below the level of the previous year (EUR 10.7 billion).

Nominal new promotional business is presented in the table below:

Rentenbank raised EUR 8.2 billion (EUR 10.5 billion) in medium- and long-term funds in the national and international financial markets in 2024. The Bank employed the following medium- and long-term funding instruments: