Impact Banking

With the help of Impact Banking, we and our clients are contributing to the transformation to a sustainable economy

What does impact banking mean? A definition.

"Impact Banking" aims to promote sustainable projects. With our commitment, we want to support those companies and organisations that generate the greatest possible positive impact on our environment. Another dimension is "social impact banking": supporting organisations and projects that have a positive impact on social aspects. In addition, we want to encourage our customers to actively shape change through targeted investments, thus broadening financial education. In this way, you too can participate in what is happening with the help of "Impact Investing".

What role does Commerzbank play in impact banking?

As one of the largest universal banks in Germany, we play a key role as a provider of capital and advisory in the sustainable transformation of the economy. As a bank, we have a special role and responsibility in this. In doing so, we set ourselves the goal of maximising the positive social/environmental contribution through sustainable products and solutions.

Climate change and the new geopolitical situation pose immense challenges for politics, business, and society. To meet the international climate targets to which Germany has committed, we need radically new, sustainable ways of doing business. And this applies not only to climate and energy, but also to other environmental and social challenges, across the entire supply chain.

We want to play our part in bringing global financial flows into line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Union’s Green Deal, thereby promoting climate-compatible development.

Impact of the customer's money

Examples of the impact created by Commerzbank

Mobilise customer funds for sustainable products

We will mobilise 300 billion euros for sustainable financial products by 2025. Of this, we have already reached 246 billion euros by 2022. This includes credit products such as green home financing and renewable energy financing, as well as investment products such as sustainable securities and ESG-/Sustainability-linked loans.

Developing sustainable bonds and loans

The total volume of all green and social bonds for which Commerzbank was the lead manager in 2022 was €46.6bn (2021: €62.3bn, 2020: €46.6bn, 2019: €12bn). Green bonds are a way of providing corporate financing for projects with a positive impact on the environment or climate. Social bonds, on the other hand, can be used to finance projects that make a positive contribution to social issues, such as promoting education or combating poverty.

Impact Investment

With klimaVest, our customers invest directly in the sustainable energy transition. In addition to the production and expansion of renewable energies, customers also support the maintenance and expansion of sustainable infrastructure, mobility and forestry. The volume of klimaVest amounted to around 992.3 million euros at the end of 2022 (2021: 586.5 million euros). By 2025, the volume is expected to increase further to a total of 4.5 billion euros.

Founder of the future

Since its establishment in 1970, the Commerzbank Foundation has built up many sustainable partnerships throughout Germany and has thus established itself as a fixed funding benchmark in the German foundation landscape. In the more than 50 years of its existence, it has supported well over 1,000 projects in the fields of culture, social affairs and science with a total of around 40 million euros.