The EACB has responded to the European Commission’s public consultation on a portfolio framework to increase lending for building renovations. Cooperative banks provide a range of financing solutions that can be used for energy renovation – often through existing secured and unsecured products rather than narrowly defined “green” loans. Across Europe, experience shows that simple, flexible products with limited administrative burden and broad investment purposes are most attractive to households, SMEs and local communities, and often more effective in driving actual renovation works than highly technical, tightly conditioned schemes. At the same time, cooperative banks face significant data and operational challenges, notably the limited availability and accessibility of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), the absence of open, machine‑readable building energy databases, and the cost and complexity of relying on manual project‑by‑project documentation. While public guarantees, EU and national support schemes and green refinancing tools (such as green bonds and covered bonds) are valuable, their uptake is frequently constrained by complex rules and narrow eligibility criteria.
From a regulatory perspective, the EACB stresses that the current EU Taxonomy and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) framework remains too complex and difficult to operationalise for mortgage and renovation lending, resulting in lower‑than‑expected Green Asset Ratios and limiting the emergence of a truly “green” capital market. The Association calls for the 2026 review of the EU Taxonomy to simplify substantial contribution, DNSH and minimum safeguards criteria; better align them with EPBD IV; allow the wider use of proxies and projected EPCs; and enable GDPR‑compatible access to building energy data on the basis of legitimate interest. To unlock large‑scale renovation – especially for worst‑performing buildings and vulnerable owners – the EACB advocates stronger public guarantees and subsidies, targeted tax incentives, proportionate prudential and LTV treatment for certain renovation loans, simpler decision‑making rules for condominiums, and robust non‑financial support such as one‑stop‑shops, affordable and widely used EPC schemes, and better trained energy advisors.
Read the full EACB response by downloading the PDF.