90% jump in ‘green’ loan drawdowns last year
The number of green loans drawn down last year jumped over 90% when compared to 2022, new data shows.
A green loan includes green car or auto finance and green home improvement loans,
The data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows that 4,266 such loans were drawn down last year.
The value of these loans more than doubled to €95m.
Over the past two years, almost 6,500 loans have been issued by BPFI members.
“Lenders are well placed to support the rollout of the €500m Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme that was launched last month and will be managed by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI),” said Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI.
The scheme enables homeowners who receive home energy upgrade grants to cover the rest of the costs with low-interest loans.
Homeowners can now borrow up to €75,000 at significantly lower interest rates to retrofit their homes.
“These loans, in addition to grant support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), should help lower the financial barriers encountered by homeowners who want to make their home more energy efficient, making home energy upgrades more accessible and affordable,” Mr Hayes said.
Today’s report shows that overall, nearly 203,000 personal loans were drawn down last year, valued at €2 billion.
The total loan volume jumped by almost 18% when compared to 2022, while loan values increased by over 23%.
The number of car and auto finance loans drawn down increased by over 24% to 57,789 in 2023, while home improvement loans rose by almost 17% to 56,463.
The value of loans for other purposes, including education, holidays and special occasions such as weddings rose by 11.3% year-on-year to €157 million.
The average loan value rose by more than €700 to €10,071 between October and December of last year.
Meanwhile, the average car or auto finance increased by €990 to €12,442, while the average home improvement loan increased by €978 to €11,305.
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