Thursday 14 June 2018

Major European banks pilot energy efficiency mortgages

A total of 37 major European banks have joined forces for to launch a new energy efficiency mortgage pilot scheme.

Under such schemes, buyers can get reduced interest rates on their mortgages for greener and more energy efficient homes.

The banks – which include BNP Paribas, ING Bank, Nordea Bank and Société Générale - will trial new criteria for energy efficiency mortgages developed by the Green Building Councils (GBCs) in the WorldGBC’s Europe network and their partners.

They will explore how that can be applied across their mortgage businesses over the next two years, with the aim of establishing a new generation of mortgage products to help consumers drive reductions in energy use

Terri Wills, CEO of WorldGBC said: “The commitment by Europe’s leading banks to this pilot shows green building is hitting the mainstream. WorldGBC’s Europe network has developed energy performance criteria for new builds and renovations to help set a consistent market standard for banks issuing green mortgage products. We look forward to developing the standards over time to support the investor community in addressing climate risks.”