KommuneKredit announces Interim Report for 1st Half of 2021

Summary
▪ Pre-tax profit amounted to DKK 299 million.
▪ Lending and leasing decreased by DKK 1.3 billion to DKK 191.2 billion from year-end 2020 as an increase in net lending of DKK 3.8 billion was countered by a decrease in value adjustments of DKK 5.1 billion.
▪ Net interest income amounted to DKK 180 million against DKK 221 million in the same period last year.
▪ Comprehensive income for the period amounted to DKK 233 million against DKK 145 million for the same period last year.
▪ Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital corresponding to equity increased to DKK 8,630 million from DKK 8,397 million at year-end 2020.
▪ At 3.7% the equity ratio is almost unchanged from 31 December 2020.

KommuneKredit has today 9 September 2021 announced its interim report for the first half of 2021.

Nominal lending and leasing growth in the first half of 2021 was higher than expected. One of the reasons for this was the ability of local governments to accelerate investments due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Framework for KommuneKredit’s lending
We are keeping a close eye on a proposal for new state aid guidelines that was recently submitted for consultation by the European Commission, and which proposed extended and more flexible access to granting aid for energy-efficient district heating, including district heating based on waste incineration.

In connection with the announcement of the Interim Report CEO Jens Lundager states: "Both in the district heating and the waste energy ector, political decisions have been made in Denmark in recent years which in the longer term could mean there would no longer be an adequate basis for KommuneKredit to grant loans to these sectors.”
He continues: "I believe that the proposal made by the European Commission is a path to future-proofing KommuneKredit’s lending to, for example, district heating projects. It is a prerequisite that Denmark works to ensure that the new guidelines can be applied to KommuneKredit’s funding of the local, green transition – which is currently being planned and carried out on a large scale.”

Guidance for 2021
We still expect net interest income of approximately DKK 400 million, while expectations for administrative expenses have been adjusted down from DKK 160 million to DKK 140 million. Barring any value adjustments, we expect a pre-tax profit of DKK 260 million. In the first half of 2021, value adjustments amounted to DKK 190 million.
We upgrade our guidance for net lending for 2021 from DKK 4 billion to DKK 10 billion as a result of the budget agreement between the government and Danish Regions for 2022, in which the regions have been authorized to borrow approximately DKK 6 billion for the payment of frozen holiday funds.