More and more entities have gotten into the green financial products market, from mortgages to consumer loans, with the aim of helping to incentivize the environmental and sustainable development goals set for 2030. However, much remains to be done. The offer financing of this type is still scarce and sometimes bonuses they are not enough to make her attractive.
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In the case of consumer loans for the purchase of ‘eco’ vehicles or reforms to improve the sustainability of housing, for example, they are offered more competitive prices than average market rates. You can find credits with interests below the average, which stands at 6.82%, according to data from the Bank of Spain.
However, as pointed out by Asufin, when it comes to acquiring a car, there are currently two lines of active subsidies, incompatible between them, so the consumer must choose one or the other. Meanwhile, in the case of the purchase of a house, after the end of the deduction for the purchase of a habitual residence eight years ago, the deductions in this field are scarce and in the case of sustainable housing even more, they point out.
MORTGAGES
To know if a green mortgage is worth it, it will be necessary to analyze what is offered in the rest of the market. According to the financial comparator HelpMyCash, among conventional mortgages, whether variable or fixed, you can find equally attractive or better offers, with which green mortgages are not necessarily a better option to finance the purchase of an ‘eco’ house or flat.
A vision that the consumer association agrees with. They believe that the offer in this market is scarce, there are no important bonuses and even in some cases mortgages are more expensive than other non-green ones, since the starting differential is usually higher than that obtained by any good client of an entity, completely deterring acquisition of this type of product. In addition to this, green mortgages, which could be an incentive for the purchase of more sustainable real estate, do not take into account issues such as architectural design, materials, the need for artificial lighting, spending on water or in the case of rural homes, the need for their own water treatment system, highlights Asufin.
In addition, you have to search well in the bank window to find this type of products, since there are still few that offer them. However, it is possible that this will change when the ‘Project EeMap’ (Energy efficient Mortgages Action Plan), an action plan for mortgages on energy efficient projects which has the backing of the European Union to establish a standard for a green mortgage product in Europe, for the time being, for buildings with a high degree of energy efficiency.
This project started on June 14, 2018 and is still ongoing. When it is finished, the participating entities will report on the impact of these products and, if it is positive, it is very likely that they will begin to openly market energy efficiency mortgages, both to companies and individuals, experts point out.
If when choosing financing one of the biggest obstacles is in the scarce supply, in the investment it is not like that. According to a study by the Swiss manager Vontobel Asset Management, 29% of the funds’ investments in Spain are assigned to environmental, social and corporate governance criteria. The study on sustainable and responsible investment in Spain by the SpainSIF association values these investments at 285,454 million euros managed in 2019, with a year-on-year growth of 36%.
As highlighted by the association, the conditions that negatively affect the choice of a green investment are very varied. First of all, the risk aversion, since in most cases these investments are focused on equity investment funds. But the second is in the rejection of the extra cost.
Specific, just 11.3% would be willing to assume the extra cost of a green investment, without going to assess its risk, as reflected in the Asufin study on mortgages and ‘eco’ loans. Regarding sustainability as a criterion when deciding investments in funds or companies, a 24.8% gives it importance, compared to the rest who do not take it into special consideration.
Regarding the motivations to invest in more sustainable housing or electric vehicles, there is a clear answer: the fiscal benefits, both in the purchase and with subsequent deductions.
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