Green Loan

The issue of sustainability currently dominates the agenda in all its different aspects – Environment, Social and Governance.

Against the backdrop of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement climate protection, mitigation of climate change and adaptation to its consequences have become a focus for the financial services sector. At the end of 2019, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal – a growth strategy that aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. In this context, Sustainable Finance or sustainability within the financial system aim to make a contribution to this by including ESC aspects in financial stakeholders’ decisions and steering investments towards climate-neutral use.

We also want to contribute actively and have defined Sustainable Finance as a key pillar of our ESG strategy.

In this respect and in the context of our holistic ESG strategy, we are looking at how we can support Sustainable Finance in our core lending and funding business.

As to our business model, “green” properties are paramount and we are systematically collecting sustainability criteria of the financed properties.

Furthermore, pbb has been offering green loans as a new credit product since the fourth quarter of 2021. As yet, there is no established standard for green loans on the market. pbb has therefore developed a Green Loan Framework based on two elements: a standalone scoring model or the EU Taxonomy.

The pbb scoring model allows for the assessment of real estate using specific criteria; when a real estate property achieves points above a set score it qualifies for green lending. As an alternative, pbb grants green loans to buildings compliant with the EU Taxonomy.

pbb’s scoring model takes into account three dimensions: the energy efficiency of a building, building certificates, and further sustainability factors. The latter include factors such as surface sealing or the availability of, and distance to, the public transportation network, as well as the use of recycled materials for construction or the type of heating and use of green electricity.

In this way, we support our clients in making "green" investments and thus offer them a positive benefit for their positioning. pbb and its customers contribute to a more climate-efficient real estate sector and the achievement of the sustainability and climate goals.