RWE Bonds and Credit Rating

Responsibility for Group financing is centralised at RWE AG. As the parent company, RWE AG is responsible for acquiring funds from banks or the financial markets. Subsidiaries only raise debt capital directly in specific cases, for example if it is advantageous economically to make use of local credit and capital markets. RWE AG also acts as a co-ordinator when subsidiaries assume contingent liabilities. This allows us to manage and monitor financial risks centrally. Moreover, it strengthens our position when negotiating with banks, business partners, suppliers and customers. 

Tools for raising debt capital

We cover most of our financing needs with earnings from our operating activities. In addition, we have a wide range of tools to procure debt capital:

Our Debt Issuance Programme (DIP) gives us latitude in raising debt capital for the long term. Our current DIP allows us to issue bonds with a total face value of up to €15 billion.

For short-term refinancing, we have an EU Commercial Paper Programme of €5 billion and a US Commercial Paper Programme of $3bn. 

To secure our liquidity, we also have access to three syndicated credit lines totaling €10 billion, granted by a consortium of 34 international banks.
We have secured Facility A, a €3 billion credit line, and Facility B, a €2 billion credit line, both of which run until May 2030.
The third credit line has a volume of €5 billion and runs until May 2028.
All three facilities include two one-year extension options and are linked to sustainability criteria.
Among other factors, the conditions depend on the development of the following two indicators: The carbon emissions from RWE’s generation portfolio and from purchased electricity and heat for own use, and the percentage of our capital expenditures (capex) classified as sustainable under the EU taxonomy regulation.
We have set targets for both criteria. If we fail to meet these targets, we will be subject to higher interest and commitment fees.
Half of these additional costs will be donated to non-profit organizations.

The conditions at which we can raise debt largely depend on rating agencies’ assessment of our creditworthiness. Moody’s and Fitch make such evaluations on request from us. After raising the rating by one notch each in 2021, both rating agencies confirmed these rating outcomes again in course of this year. This means, that RWE’s long-term creditworthiness is currently rated Baa2 (Moody’s) and BBB+ (Fitch), both with a stable outlook. These are investment grade ratings. Both rating agencies reward the transformation of RWE into a leading power-generation company in the renewables segment. This business is characterised by relatively stable and predictable earnings.

RWE ended its rating by the agency Standard & Poor’s on the 15th of February 2018.