Kommunalkredit Austria AG: Always First with Speed and Precision

CEO: Bernd Fislage

Kommunalkredit Austria is a specialised bank for infrastructure and energy financing with a clear objective: to create sustainable value to improve people’s lives.

Vienna-based Kommunalkredit (KA) is partner of choice for corporate and financial sponsors active in the construction, acquisition and operation of infrastructure and energy projects. It matches the needs of developers and project sponsors with the growing number of investors seeking sustainable investment opportunities.

Those investors include insurance companies, pension funds and asset managers, and public financing of infrastructure investments is key in KA’s business model. It maintains strong relationships with local communities on one hand and international clients and investors on the other.

KA is an “infra-banking” expert which combines in-depth industry expertise and structuring know-how to provide tailor-made solutions for its clients. It adheres to its motto of “Always first – with speed and precision”. This is reflected by swift decision-making and reaction to market developments.

“What sets Kommunalkredit apart is its will to participate in creating a better world by enabling the development of sustainable infrastructure.”

The European infrastructure market is evolving – and so is KA. The demand for investments is increasing, which is why Kommunalkredit provides a range of products, from financial advisory services to arranging and underwriting of senior and junior debt, as well as asset management through the Fidelio KA platform. KA is also expanding in the areas of acquisition finance, hybrid/corporate finance, and financial advisory services.

What sets Kommunalkredit apart from other financial institutions is its will to participate in creating a better world by enabling the development of sustainable infrastructure. Kommunalkredit aims to provide benefits to communities, fight climate change and promote sustainability.

The concept of sustainability is firmly embedded in its business model and processes. In 1997, KA established an EMAS (environmental management system) that it has since developed. Its commitment to sustainability is evident: it has become the first Austrian issuer of a Social Covered Bond.

Investments in infrastructure serve as a tool for answering social needs. This is reflected in KA’s core investment segments.

Infrastructure is essential to the efficient functioning of society. Improvements in this area have a positive effect on economic growth, at local, regional and global levels. As Kommunalkredit’s CEO Bernd Fislage says: “Infrastructure is the backbone of society.”
By giving populations improved access to essential services — water, electricity, roads, schools and hospitals — the standard of living will be improved.

Fislage has been a member of the executive board of Kommunalkredit Austria AG since February 2017, and chief executive since September 2018. He has established a clear path for the company: to take “always first” as an obligation to improve every day, to be nimble and flexible, and to stay committed.

He has three decades of international experience in capital-market, institutional and bank financing, as well as in infrastructure, energy and transport. His banking career spans more than 25 years, including 18 in leading regional and global management positions with Deutsche Bank.

Fislage was in charge of Deutsche Bank’s global asset finance, and had regional responsibility for its structured finance business (ABS, CRE, illiquid trading) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Previously, the Technical University of Darmstadt graduate worked for NatWest Markets and BHF Bank.