CBA expands green financing to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability

Commonwealth Bank is expanding its range of green financing to support home loan and personal loan customers to enhance the energy efficiency of their homes, and purchase electric and hybrid vehicles.

The Green Loan is a low, 10-year secured fixed rate and comparison rate loan at 1.99% p.a. with no establishment fee, no monthly loan service fee or early repayment fee. Customers with an eligible CommBank home loan or investment loan can buy and install eligible products to make their home more energy efficient. Currently, customers can use the Green Loan to purchase and install small scale renewables like solar panels and battery packs. 

To support customers making their homes more energy efficient, Commonwealth Bank will increase the maximum loan size for its Green Loan from $20,000 to $30,000, and expand the range of products eligible¹ to be funded under the loan from mid-2023.

Commonwealth Bank’s Group Executive, Retail Banking, Angus Sullivan said: “We know Australians are thinking carefully about making sustainable choices that can help them save money, which is why we are expanding the amount of funding, and the range of products, available under our Green Loan.

“The expansion of eligible products will ensure customers can use the loan for items such as double-glazed windows and to switch their homes from gas to electric cooking equipment – building on the clean energy products already eligible, including solar and battery, solar hot water systems, heat pump hot water systems and electric vehicle charging stations,” Mr Sullivan said.

In addition to installing new items, customers can also use the Green Loan to upgrade their existing small-scale renewables by adding products like a battery pack or additional solar panels.

Commonwealth Bank also offers Personal Loan discounts of up to 7.49% p.a.² off the representative rate³ for a range of eligible¹ sustainable products, including electric or hybrid cars, electric car charging stations, solar panels, battery packs, and solar and heat-pump hot water systems, that meet certain criteria.

“We know that for many Australians one of the barriers to taking up more eco-friendly options is the initial, upfront cost, and our lower rate loans make these options more accessible for our customers.

“CommBank is dedicated to supporting Australia’s energy transition, and rewarding our customers for making more sustainable choices”, Mr Sullivan said.

Research indicates that 64 per cent of customers would consider buying an electric or hybrid car if there was a financial incentive – and in line with this research, since October 2022, the bank has helped customers purchase more than $30 million of eligible sustainable products through its personal loans with lower, upfront interest rates⁴.

The loan balances on the discounted personal loan range between $4,000 and $100,000 (secured) and $4,000 and $50,000 (unsecured), with a loan term of up to 7 years.

Customers are encouraged to speak with their CommBank Lender to discuss how CBA can support their goals.

Refer to the full media release for tables of eligible products, and rates on CBA's Personal Loan for eligible sustainable purchases

¹Eligible products must meet minimum system size requirements and / or specifications and be installed by an eligible retailer and/or installer (where applicable) to be eligible for the discounted interest rates. More information including product eligibility criteria, terms, conditions and fees is available here (personal loan) and here (green loan).

³Unsecured Fixed Rate Personal Loan representative rate is 13.99% p.a. (14.86% p.a. comparison rate) and the Unsecured Variable Rate Personal Loan representative rate is 13.50% p.a. (14.37% p.a. comparison rate). The Secured Personal Loan representative rate is 7.99% p.a. (9.04% p.a. comparison rate). While at least half of our customers will receive the representative rate or lower, it may not be the actual rate you receive.

⁵Comparison rates are based on a $30,000 secured loan over 5 years and a $30,000 unsecured loan over 5 years.

WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124, Australian credit licence 234945.

For CBA research fieldwork was conducted by House of Brand Group between 29 August 2022 – 30 August 2022, amongst a sample of n=1012 nationally representative respondents with quotas set on age, gender and location.

CommBank’s broader sustainability offering for its retail customers include:

• The CommBank Green Loan
• Personal loan for eligible sustainable purchases
• Green Home Offer, which sees the continuation of a partnership between the Commonwealth Bank and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to deliver ongoing discounts eligible to home owners
• Exclusive offers on wholesale energy via our green energy provider Amber
• A carbon footprint tracker, developed with Cogo that customers can access through the CommBank app

For more information on how customers can live a more sustainable life, visit CommBank’s sustainable living site: commbank.com.au/sustainable-living

Go to CBA Newsroom for the latest news and announcements from Commonwealth Bank.