100
In the first few months after the measure took
effect the number of green loans with an inter-
est rebate remained limited. In the course of
2010
that number rose strongly, especially be-
cause the measure became better known due
to the promotion by the lenders.
Between August 2009 and the end of 2010,
about 77,000 green loans were granted for
a total amount of €1.2 billion. When the
announcement was made in 2011 that the
measure would not be extended, the num-
ber of loans increased considerably: an extra
140,000
loans in 2011, worth €2.3 billion.
With the termination of this governmental
measure, the tax benefit of a green loan in
personal taxation was cancelled, but the finan-
cial sector did not yet stop its contribution to
sustainable and socially responsible invest-
ments. Most banks, therefore, still offer green
loans at an improved rate, whether or not they
are partially supported by a governmental
subsidy.
Regulation obliges people and compa-
nies to think in a more ecological man-
ner. Brussels, for example, has issued
new ecological and energy norms for
corporate buildings. Those rules will
require billions in investments to have
office buildings adapted to the new
norms towards 2015, which will oblige
financial institutions, on their part, to
conceive new funding methods.
It is, after all, not only about the fun-
ding of the buildings, but also about
the residue value thereof, which deter-
mines the guarantees that have to be
demanded for the loans.
59,799
35,610
41,462
79,088
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
12/2011
12/2010
■
Consumer credit
■
Mortgage credit
868,145
449,792
776,835
1,446,021
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
12/2011
12/2010
x 1.000 EUR
in units
DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN LOANS 2009-2011
(
SOURCE: UPC-BVK)
5.
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