HSBC has issued the first green mortgages in the UAE as it approved three mortgages for home buyers in Dubai’s The Sustainable City community.
The green home loans, available for properties across the UAE, offer an interest rate discount of 0.25 per cent for properties that meet certain sustainable criteria and a 50 per cent discount on arrangement fees, HSBC said.
“Sustainable development is more important now than it’s ever been and it’s vital that banks support customers with competitively priced green finance, and to encourage more sustainable behaviours,” Daniel Robinson, head of wealth & personal banking at HSBC UAE, said.
Issuing the UAE’s first-ever green mortgages demonstrates the appeal of green retail finance to customers looking to make more sustainable decisions while appreciating the financial upside, he added.
According to Climate Bonds Initiative cumulative green bond issuances have topped $1 trillion since 2007, with $124 billion issued in the first few months of 2021.
HSBC is expecting to provide between $750 billion and $1 trillion in sustainable financing and investment by 2030 to support its clients as they switch to more sustainable ways of doing business. The bank aims to be net-zero in its own operation by 2030.
Source Zawya