Frankfurt – October 29, 2026 -- Nearly 36 percent of German mid-sized companies still rated bank behavior in credit negotiations as restrictive in the third quarter of 2026, almost five percentage points fewer than in the prior quarter, according to the KfW-ifo Credit Hurdle. Lending conditions are easing, but remain tighter than the average of recent years.

Frankfurt am Main – October 27, 2026 -- KfW committed €225 million through its ERP Founder Loan – StartGeld in the first half of 2026, a 75 percent increase on the same period of 2025.

Frankfurt am Main – September 10, 2026 -- Germany has a realistic chance of restoring potential economic growth to more than 1% annually over the coming decade, according to a new KfW Research study, up from a rate that has slipped to barely above zero after standing near 2% in 2015.

Frankfurt am Main – September 09, 2026 -- Thirty percent of German small and mid-sized companies (Mittelstand) with foreign business expect their cross-border revenues to decline over the next three years, according to a new KfW Research study, with 6 percent forecasting a sharp drop. Roughly 24 percent anticipate growth, while 47 percent expect no change.

The findings stem from a January 2026 survey conducted before the outbreak of the Iran conflict, meaning sentiment may have since deteriorated further.