Promotional mandate

Rentenbank is a promotional bank operating throughout Germany. Under the Law Governing Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, its mandate is to promote agriculture, related upstream and downstream sectors, and rural areas in general. Its business model is defined by the framework set out in the Law Governing Rentenbank and its Articles of Incorporation.

As a promotional bank for agribusiness and rural areas, Rentenbank provides earmarked funding for a wide range of investments and initiatives. It grants special promotional loans to local banks on a competitively neutral basis for the financing of projects in Germany. These loans are granted to enterprises in the agriculture and forestry, viticulture and horticulture, and aquaculture and fisheries sectors. Rentenbank also supports projects in the food industry and in other sectors upstream and downstream of agriculture, as well as investments in renewable energy and infrastructure projects in rural areas. In addition, Rentenbank carries out promotional activities on behalf of the federal government and the federal states. The appropriation of profits is aligned with the promotional mandate: One half of distributable profit is allocated to Rentenbank’s Promotional Fund and the other half to the Federal Government’s Special-Purpose Fund administered by Rentenbank. The Special-Purpose Fund is used to promote innovation in agriculture on the basis of the guidelines issued by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH). Rentenbank also promotes innovative business models by investing in venture capital funds that provide targeted financing to start- ups in the ag-tech and food-tech sectors and help them gain a foothold in the market. In addition, Rentenbank provides refinancing to banks, savings banks and public authorities, including through the purchase of registered bonds, promissory note loans and securities.