ABSTRACT
The limitation of the Kreditanstalt fÜr Wiederaufbau's (KfW's) task to cases where no loans from private banks could be obtained was a concession to the private banking sector. The support of 'special public or economic interests' of the Federal Republic abroad also became the Kreditanstalt's concern. This meant that from now on the KfW could be used legally as a governmental tool in economic and Cold War policy mainly abroad but also at home. The Germans countered the allegations in a press conference on 2 April where they claimed that the delays in the KfW's operations were only due to the Allied practice of political scrutiny of potential KfW staff. When Otto Schniewind and Hermann Josef Abs were appointed Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively of the KfW's Board of Directors on 8 December 1948 most of the other posts had not yet been officially decided on.
