The KfW, which together with its subsidiaries DEG, KfW IPEX-Bank and FuB forms the KfW Bankengruppe ("banking group"), is a German state-owned investment and development bank, based in Frankfurt. As of 2014, it is the world's largest national development bank and as of 2018 Germany's third largest bank by balance sheet. Its name originally comes from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau ("Credit Institute for Reconstruction"). It was formed in 1948 after World War II as part of the Marshall Plan. Governance KfW is owned by the Federal Republic of Germany (80 percent) and the States of Germany (20 percent). It is led by a five-member executive board headed by CEO , which in turn reports to a 37member Board of Supervisory Directors. The chair and deputy chair of the Board of Supervisory Directors are the German Federal Ministers of Finance and of Economic Affairs, with the positions alternating annually between them. The chairman as of May 2021 is Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. In 2009, Caisse des Dépots, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, KfW and European Investment Bank founded the Long-Term Investors Club. Operations KfW banking group covers over 90% of its borrowing needs in the capital markets, mainly through bonds that are guaranteed by the federal government. This allows KfW to raise funds at advantageous conditions. Its exemption from having to pay corporate taxes due to its legal status as a public agency and unremunerated equity provided by its public shareholders allow KfW to provide loans for purposes prescribed by the KfW law at lower rates than commercial banks. KfW is not allowed to compete with commercial banks, but it facilitates their business in areas within its mandate. KfW banking group has three business units with distinct functions, as well as several subsidiaries. Lending by KfW group's two main business units, accounting for more than 90% of total lending, is in Germany and, to a limited extent, in other European countries. However, its largest subsidiary, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, predominantly lends internationally. A smaller subsidiary, the German Investment Corporation (DEG), and one of the group's smaller business units, KfW Development Bank, are exclusively active in the international arena, each within their particular business areas. Subsidiaries and group units Housing and environment KfW Förderbank (KfW promotional Bank), the largest business unit of the group, committed €47.6 billion in 2014, mostly for housing and environmental protection in Germany. It is