Commonwealth Bank has completed the pilot of a green loan it launched in February and is rolling the product out nationally, adding to the growing list of green home and personal loans in the market.
CommBank Green Loan allows borrowers to fund up to A$20,000 of renewables for their homes. The rate is 0.99 per cent fixed for the 10-year life of the loan.
Last month, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation announced that it was an investor in a $750 million green mortgage-backed securitisation issued by Firstmac. Japanese bank Norinchukin was the other investor.
Firstmac’s Green Home Loans will be priced at a 40 basis point discount for up to five years. Construction loans will be discounted by up to 158 bps.
Qualifying homes must meet or exceed a 7-star rating under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme.
The securitisation issue was seeded with $520 million of existing Firstmac loans that meet the green criteria, leaving $230 million for new lending.
Last year, the CEFC provided funding to Bank Australia to support its Clean Energy Home Loan. So far, Bank Australia has drawn $90 million of CEFC funding.
Other lenders offering loans for the purchase of renewables for the home include Brighte, Community First Credit Union, Endeavour Mutual Bank, Military Bank, Plenti and Regional Australia Bank.
Lenders offering loans for the purchase of low emission vehicles include Bank First, Bendigo Bank, Beyond Bank, loans.com.au.