Björn Schlehbach and Petra Wehlert, senior funding manager and head of capital markets at KfW respectively are pictured with Heike Jantsch from the German Embassy in Luxembourg, Arnaud Delestienne, director of international capital markets at LuxSE and the Stock Exchange’s CEO Julie Becker. Luxembourg Stock Exchange

Björn Schlehbach and Petra Wehlert, senior funding manager and head of capital markets at KfW respectively are pictured with Heike Jantsch from the German Embassy in Luxembourg, Arnaud Delestienne, director of international capital markets at LuxSE and the Stock Exchange’s CEO Julie Becker. Luxembourg Stock Exchange

A Ring the Bell ceremony at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange on Monday marked KfW reaching the milestone of €50 billion in total green bond issuance since 2014.

KfW, a promotional bank owned by the Federal Republic of Germany and the German federal states, issued its first green bond eight years ago and has since issued about 100 green bonds raising an equivalent of €50 billion for green projects. Its significant green funding programme makes KfW one of the 10 largest sustainable bond issuers in the world. Since 2014, the great majority of the Green Bonds - Made by KfW have been listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and displayed on its Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), the world’s leading platform for sustainable securities established by LuxSE in 2016.

The green bonds have been issued in 14 different currencies, offering a range of different maturities, thereby contributing to developing and diversifying capital market activity for green bonds.

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“Green Bonds – Made by KfW are the most liquid green bonds in the segment,” said Petra Wehlert, head of capital markets at KfW. “Moving the issuance size of our green bonds to €3 to €5 billion has been a major step to bring this market out of niche.”

While some of KfW’s initial green bonds have already matured, 37 of them are currently listed and tradable on LuxSE, raising the equivalent of €44 billion for green projects.

If we are to curb climate change, green finance must remain a priority
 Julie Becker

 Julie Becker,  CEO, Luxembourg Stock Exchange 

“As a leading issuer of green bonds, KfW has provided financing for multiple projects with significant environmental benefits and greatly contributed to the development of the global green bond market,” said . “We are proud to serve as the chosen listing venue for KfW’s green bonds and we commend KfW’s contribution to the development of industry standards for sustainable finance, and its focus on impact reporting. If we are to curb climate change, green finance must remain a priority.”

Initially, funds equal to the net proceeds from KfW’s green bonds were exclusively linked to renewable energy projects across Germany. During the last years, KfW updated its green bond framework twice and extended it by two further project categories: energy-efficient construction and clean transportation. The latest update was made at the beginning of 2022.