Through its financing activities, the Savings Banks Finance Group is making a significant contribution to the transformation of the economy. And it is doing so in a variety of ways. In 2025, for example, savings banks provided development loans totalling more than 11 billion euros through funding programmes run by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank (LR), thereby financing projects in the fields of environmental protection, energy and resource efficiency, and renewable energy. In addition, the ‘S-Transformation Loans’ represent a specialised lending programme, underpinned by a dedicated sustainable financing framework, which has now supported over 200 climate-friendly projects in the SME sector. In this way, many savings banks are channelling funds specifically towards energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmentally friendly production processes in their regions. By 2025, the Savings Banks Finance Group will have supported the transformation of SMEs with around 1.1 billion euros.
Innovation and agriculture
Hazelnuts for the automotive industry
This does not always involve large-scale investment projects. Good ideas often emerge on a small scale too. At the Püning farm in the Münsterland region, for example, the dual use of land and crops is a major focus: this long-established farm has been growing Christmas trees for many years. It is a land-intensive business – especially as such a tree takes 7 to 10 years to reach a height suitable for sale. The Pünings therefore came up with the idea of making dual use of the required land: on 20,000 square metres – roughly the size of three football pitches – a solar power plant was built that can supply up to 800 households. Electricity is generated above, whilst fir trees grow below; as heatwaves become more frequent, this also protects the trees from excessive sunlight.
However, this is not the only example of dual use at the Püning farm. A few years ago, the family began growing hazelnuts. This small nut – rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and protein – is currently enjoying something of a comeback in the food industry as a superfood. As soon as the slow-growing plants start to yield a harvest, the Pünings also plan to process the nuts into food products in collaboration with a partner company. But the hazelnut is even more versatile: its shells – once crushed, cleaned and sieved – are a sought-after raw material in certain industrial sectors. In the automotive industry, for example, such granules are used as blasting media and are regarded as an environmentally sound alternative to conventional sandblasting media, as they are readily biodegradable. Until now, walnut shells have been the main material used for this purpose, but hazelnut shells are also gaining ground due to their special properties. Their soft texture is particularly well-suited to gentle surface treatments, such as in bodywork.
These are two examples of dual-use applications that require foresight and patience. This makes it all the more important to have a financial partner who also thinks in terms of the future and within a long-term context. For Hof Püning, this is Savings Bank Münsterland Ost, which has been supporting the business for many years. The good working relationship and partnership-based contact on an equal footing make it possible to jointly develop projects which, whilst requiring staying power, have an enormous transformative impact.