ECBC

Draft guidelines for a planned European energy efficient mortgage have been published for a market consultation today (Monday), ahead of the launch in June of a pilot scheme, which will collect data that could substantiate a correlation between energy efficiency and lower risk.

A market initiative to produce a standardised pan-European protocol and portal for financial data on energy efficient mortgages, EeDaPP, has won support and funding from the European Commission, ahead of the forthcoming pilot phase of the Energy efficient Mortgages Action Plan (EeMAP).

The EMF-ECBC is hoping to gain European Commission support and funding for developing a data protocol that would help optimise its energy efficient mortgages initiative, although a speaker at a plenary meeting of the industry body warned that “the best is the enemy of the good”.

An EU standard and label for green bonds and other sustainable assets can unlock the market’s potential, according to recommendations presented to the European Commission, while at a hearing yesterday (Tuesday) the EMF-ECBC called for the establishment of green mortgages to let the industry “do our job”.

The European Green Securities Steering Committee – an industry-wide committee jointly convened by the Climate Bonds Initiative and the European Covered Bond Council, with the support of the UNEP Inquiry – mapped its priorities for the coming 12 months at an inaugural meeting last Thursday (29 June).

The green and social covered bond markets have considerable potential for growth, according to panellists at an ICMA CBIC/The CBR conference, with a leading investor highlighting his appetite for more paper and “sticky green money” available, but the impact of QE and a lack of data is holding issuers back.

The European Covered Bond Council hopes to ultimately introduce a green covered bond label alongside its Energy Efficient Mortgages initiative, the ECBC’s Jennifer Johnson yesterday (Monday) told a climate bonds conference, where appropriate pricing and collateral were under scrutiny.

Energy efficient mortgages being advanced by the EMF-ECBC can be a key element in boosting green covered bonds and helping the EU meet energy targets, according to an industry survey and participants at a stakeholder meeting today (Thursday), where a Commission official welcomed the initiative.