OREANDA-NEWS. May 22, 2012. KfW is taking advantage of its favourable refinancing conditions on the capital market to again cut interest rates in a number of promotional programmes for enterprises, private customers and municipalities. This applies to most programmes for start-up, innovation and general financing of enterprises and for the most important housing loan programmes such as energy efficient construction and refurbishment, age-appropriate conversion and the home ownership programme. The interest rates for the municipal programmes are also being lowered, specifically for KfW investment loans for "municipal enterprises", "social organisations" and "energy efficient urban lighting". For programmes important for the energy turnaround KfW had already lowered the interest rates on 26 April to a historically low level, with starting interest rates of 1%.

These current interest rate changes make the interest terms particularly attractive to enterprises that want to make investments for in-house environmental protection. In the KfW Environmental Protection Programme, these enterprises benefit from historically low interest rates, which start at a 1% borrowing rate p.a. depending on duration and rating category. Using this programme, small and medium-size enterprises can finance measures for saving materials and resources, and reducing or avoiding pollution, among others.

"Climate and environmental protection is one of the priority areas of our promotional programmes. We also take this into account when setting our interest rates. Our message to entrepreneurs, homeowners and municipalities is: now is the ideal time to implement concrete plans for improving the environmental and energy balance," said Dr Axel Nawrath, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Bankengruppe. Through the KfW Environmental Protection Programme enterprises can finance measures for saving materials and resources, and reducing or avoiding pollution, among others.