The promotional balance of the state-owned KfW banking group is a reflection of the public rescue policy.
The stabilization of energy trading, emergency aid for gas and heating payments and investments in alternatives to Russian natural gas have inflated the funding amount to an incredible 167 billion euros last year.
A record value that surpasses the Corona year 2020 and even KfW CEO Wintels does not seem comfortable.
In 2023 things will be more modest and the focus will once again be on “market forces”.
But just as little as the pandemic or Putin's war of aggression were predictable, it is impossible to say what the still young year has in store.
For politicians, it makes sense to cushion hard cuts through the state bank, which can stock up cheaply on the capital market thanks to its high credit rating.
Financial viability is assured, KfW assures, even if it is not yet possible to say how many loans from the Corona aid will be canceled.
In any case, the federal government will ultimately have to service open items such as the billions in loans to the gas trader Uniper, of which it is the new owner.
As a rescue bank without limits, KfW is overwhelmed in the long run - and not intended.