Having studied the government's plans for the 'greening of finance', Saffron Building Society has introduced a Retro-Fit Mortgage.
Saffron Building Society has introduced two products, a savings account and a green mortgage, aimed at following government plans for the 'greening of finance'.
In July 2019, the government launched its Green Finance strategy, which included encouraging financial institutions to consider data and analytics relating to climate change and create ‘green financial products’.
Saffron Building Society's launch of the two products aims to be its first step into offering green financing solutions to their customers.
Alongside a savings account that includes 0.10% interest donated to an environmental charity during each 12-month interest period, Saffron is also offering a green Retro-Fit Mortgage.
The purpose is to encourage borrowers to upgrade current housing stock to a better energy efficiency rating (EPC).
If updating a home, the mortgage offers an interest reduction reward for the remaining time of the 2-year fixed rate, when the borrower can prove that any upgrades made to the property, have improved the EPC by one band, to a minimum of a quite achievable E.
Laura Bright, product development manager at Saffron Building Society and the developer of the green products, said: “I was made aware of the government’s green financing scheme last year.
"Having studied the guidelines I was keen to create green products from Saffron that can help to further enhance the government’s strategy, whilst also taking the first step to a greener future for Saffron Building Society and our loyal customers.
"Each product offers a little incentive to encourage borrowers to think of the environment, whilst giving a little something to the charities working so hard to save our planet.”
