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The first quarter of 2025 was characterized by a subdued market environment. In our latest market update, we summarize the latest developments, highlight current trends and provide an outlook for the rest of the year.

In 2024, the market for Schuldschein loans reached a valued volume of EUR 22.5 billion, which represents a decline of 9% compared to the previous year. This cooling is primarily due to the changed interest rate landscape, but also to economic influences and a subdued willingness to invest.

With a valued volume of around EUR 6 billion from 30 transactions, the market volume of the third quarter of 2024 was approximately 7% above the second quarter of 2024. So far, 2024 is behind 2023 at around EUR 1 billion (EUR 15.85 billion in 2024 vs. EUR 16.9 billion in 2023).

In the first half of 2024, the bond market recorded a valued volume of EUR 9.85 billion from 63 transactions. The comparatively weak first quarter of 2024 has a dampening effect on the market's half-year performance. Investors act selectively — not least taking into account other attractive capital market products.

In the first quarter of 2024, the Schuldschein loan market recorded a valued volume of 4.2 billion euros from 28 transactions. This market volume was significantly below the previous year's volume (7.8 billion euros and 37 transactions) and is similar to the first quarter of the somewhat weaker pandemic year 2021. Issuers in the first quarter of 2024 launched significantly fewer transactions with sustainable structures (ESG KPI links) compared to the last two years. A total of 82% of transactions came from issuers in Germany.

In an interview with Sebastian Dahlhaus from finpair, Roman Becker, managing director of Wohnbau Mainz GmbH, talks about private placements for municipal housing. Mr. Becker, Wohnbau Mainz issued its debut issue in 2018/19. At that time, the company placed EUR 50 million Schuldschein loans and registered bonds through NORD/LB.

Municipal financing: tenders with KandlerWe are pleased to announce that Kandler Gruppe GmbH and finpair GmbH, have entered into a pioneering cooperation in the area of municipal financing. Together, we are launching the municipal financing marketplace with the largest investor reach and comprehensive municipal coverage in Germany and Austria.

Kandler Gruppe GmbH, full arranger for municipal financing, and finpair GmbH, operator of a digital platform for structuring and placing debt securities, conclude a cooperation agreement. This cooperation provides for the presentation of municipal credit offerings via the digital FinPair platform and thus justifies the market launch of the municipal financing marketplace for Germany and Austria with the largest investor reach.

finpair GmbH, one of the leading digital platforms for structuring and issuing debt securities based in Hanover, has agreed to work with ESG.DNA. The innovative company from Frankfurt am Main offers cloud-based ESG management solutions that can be used to collect, evaluate and centrally manage information on sustainability and its opportunities and risks. According to the EU's new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which has been in force since last year, significantly more companies will be required to provide information on their sustainability than before.

Review of 2023: The market for Schuldschein loans was also remarkably robust last year, despite a changed interest rate landscape and economic influences, which led to a slight cooling. The diversity of industries persisted, and by the end of the year, issuers outside the DACH region also became more active again. However, debut issuers were more cautious compared to the previous year. Issuers' demand for digital issuance remained at a high level.

Christian Müller from finpair was interviewed by Manfred Staib from Stadtwerke Ulm. What was your first experience with digitizing SSD emissions with the finpair platform? What did you particularly like and where do you still see room for improvement? The structure and use of the platform are very understandable and we have found our way around easily.

The bond market stabilized in the third quarter of 2023 in a market environment that remained difficult (including maturities, spreads). However, the requirements for issuers remain demanding in terms of sector and credit rating. Here are the highlights:

Hanover/Bremen - Sparkasse Bremen AG has signed a cooperation agreement with finpair, the operator of a digital platform for structuring and placing debt securities. Through this cooperation, both self-structured and jointly structured debt instruments in the form of Schuldschein loans and registered bonds can be marketed in broad transactions or placed among selected investors.

Hanover/Göttingen — Since May 2023, finpair and DAN/AG have worked together. Since then, DAN/AG has been able to support Finpair several times in Schuldschein loan transactions (SSD) with emission-related corporate analyses. “With DAN/AG, we are pleased to have found a partner with whom the people involved have been familiar to us for many years.

In the first half of 2023, the SSD market presented 69 transactions worth a total of EUR 13.7 billion Despite a slight slowdown compared to the previous year, the market remains robust. ESG structures remain present in the second quarter, although slightly less so compared to the first three months of the year. The majority of issuers (83%) come from Germany. Investors prefer stable industries and growth markets with terms of 3 to 7 years.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Schuldschein loan market recorded a valued volume of 7.8 billion euros and 37 transactions. This volume was higher than in the same quarter of the previous year (6 billion euros and 26 transactions) and was therefore at a high level. Porsche Automobil Holding SE's record transaction of 2.7 billion euros and 22 valued forward transactions from 2022 were decisive for this.

With a valued volume of over €30 billion and 155 transactions, the SSD market is significantly above the previous year (+30%) and thus at a record level. In addition, in December 2022 - 22 transactions were concluded with a currency in 2023 (a total of > €2 billion).

finpair relies on strong partners! We took this as an opportunity and entered into direct contact with our renowned cooperation partner Gleiss Lutz Rechtsanwälte. Partner I Attorney Dr. Helge Kortz was available to answer questions about the synergies between Gleiss Lutz and finpair, the development of future contract documentation, including with regard to the integration of ESG components and their impact.

In order to offer you the greatest possible convenience and service for your debt securities, we are constantly developing our platform. We would now like to draw your attention to the function of depositing settlement accounts.

Demand for debt securities has remained high since the start of 2022. In the full year, 108 transactions with a volume of > 21 billion EUR have already been valued. The number of transactions currently on the market is record-breaking. There are currently more than 30 issuers offering attractive offers on the Schuldschein loan market.

In the second quarter of 2022, the market volume of the Schuldschein loan market is also well above the previous year. With a volume of €15.7 billion and 73 valued transactions, the market volume is now significantly above the previous year (+120%) and is therefore at an all-time high for every quarter.

The Schuldschein loan market is off to a dynamic start to the current year 2022, with 26 valued transactions and over €6 billion, and the market volume is significantly higher than the previous year (+ 43%). In particular, benchmark transactions led to a significantly higher average volume (around €230 million) compared to the first quarter of 2021. The high volume of the Schuldschein loan market in the first quarter can also be attributed to the prevailing political uncertainty.

When we decided as part of our sustainability strategy that we would plant trees to reduce our CO2 footprint, the question was how we could implement this. Forest owners have been asking themselves for years what tree species will have in the future. We have obtained support from the Brammer family's forest company and the forester Karl-Heinz Dose. To defy the consequences of climate change, we have opted for silver firs, red oaks and sweet chestnuts. This is because tree species are selected based on soil conditions and weather conditions.

A few weeks ago, Berliner Wasserbetriebe issued their first Schuldschein loan. In addition to a successful issue, there were special features that are new on the market so far. Contrary to market standards, the transaction was issued without a marketing spread — instead, price indications were obtained directly from investors. We spoke to Sabine Engemann and Frank Jungfermann from BWB about this transaction

On the home straight of 2021, the Schuldschein loan market is once again picking up significantly. With a current market volume of around €15 billion (as of October '21) and 109 transactions, the market level to date remains below the previous year (-8%), but a strong final rally in November makes the market sit up and take notice once again. A large number of investors are still urgently seeking investment opportunities, but the liquidity balance on the part of issuers remains high. The ECB's monetary and interest rate policy continues to shape credit and capital markets and skim market volumes from the SSD market. In addition, smaller section sizes have recently been placed more frequently - increasingly as a result of so-called private placements.

We want to give you the opportunity to get to know the contacts behind our technical solution better and in this article we will show you why a Product Owner is needed and what they do at finpair. Today in an interview with Christopher Wilkening. After training as an IT clerk and completing his studies in finance and business informatics, Chris completed a trainee program in corporate banking at NORD/LB. Chris has been with finpair for three years now and, in addition to working as a project manager, also plays the role of Prduct Owner.

The provision of additional digital services distinguishes the DekaEasyAccess (DEA) and finpair platforms. Thanks to our cooperation partner Deka Institutionell, we have streamlined the process for all participants and expanded our range of services. A successful cooperation is on its way. Learn more about the motivations, goals and benefits of investors and issuers from Stefan Hachmeister - Head of Capital Markets Business at DekaBank.

Both in terms of number of transactions and volume, the Schuldschein loan market is below the previous year's level. However, there is a positive trend — around 17 transactions are currently being marketed, which suggests a good outlook for the second half of the year. The steady growth of sustainable finance transactions remains positive. With a volume of around €7 billion and 56 transactions, the market level is still below the previous year.

The first half of 2021 is history. We are still in the midst of a pandemic — but that hasn't stopped us further developing our platform for you and implementing many transactions. We have been able to successfully implement more than 10 transactions so far this year — and the pipeline is well filled. In addition to established SSD issuers such as Schön Klinik SE, we were also recently able to work for WEMAG AG