The bank is using the FLP to recharge and evolve its Good to Grow programme
BNZ is helping New Zealanders make their businesses, farms, and homes cleaner and greener by providing them access to new low-rate loans.
Karna Luke, BNZ executive customer products and services, said the bank has a suite of sustainable lending initiatives designed to deliver great results for customers who are “passionate about embracing green technologies, are determined to reduce their carbon footprint, and are excited at the opportunity to electrify their transport” through access to lower-cost funding.
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”Homeowners, too, whether first- or next-home buyers or investors, are often looking for a property that ticks the sustainable home box,” Karna said. “BNZ’s now working on finding ways to support customers with new low-cost home lending initiatives to install options like solar panels, double glazing, or new insulation.”
Utilising the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Funding for Lending Programme last year, BNZ established its Good to Grow programme to help customers navigate uncertain trading conditions by helping them invest in their businesses at low-interest rates.
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Through the programme, BNZ committed $900 million in loans to empower businesses to go digital, develop new products, and increase sustainability and productivity.
“We’re recharging and evolving the programme with $1.4 billion in funding from the FLP that we’ll access in the coming weeks,” Karna said. “These funds are all about accelerating our customers’ green ambitions whether they be in housing, or renewable energy including EVs, as well as supporting the growth of Māori business and New Zealand’s army of small and medium enterprises. BNZ’s soon-to-be-launched Green purpose business loan is a great example. It’s designed to support customers with investment initiatives in renewable energy, low emission transport and the protection of a healthy ecosystem.”
Aside from BNZ’s other green lending-related initiatives, BNZ offers corporate Sustainable Linked Loans (SLL) and Derivatives, and New Zealand’s first scalable on farm SLL, which is available to all New Zealand farmers. The SLL offers interest cost savings for achieving environmental and social targets.
With FLP funding available, these initiatives will focus on delivering positive environmental, social, and governance-based outcomes for customers and their communities.
“This is all about our customers, current and new to BNZ, who have ideas and ambitions – whether they be big or small, who are determined that their next investment will find a way to make their businesses, their homes, and our communities more sustainable and resilient,” Luke said. “We are ambitious that BNZ’s lower cost and sustainability focussed lending will be the catalyst that kicks New Zealander’s great green ideas into gear.”
