The Energy Efficient Housing and Communal Services lending programme, designed to support investment in energy efficiency projects in the housing sector, was developed by Center-Invest Bank in consultation with advisors from the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Russia Residential Energy Efficiency Project.
Under this lending programme, Center-Invest Bank makes loans to homeowner associations and companies that manage residential multifamily buildings so that they can carry out energy efficiency renovations. The loans are made for a term of up to five years, the maximum loan amount is RUB3-4m, and Center-Invest will lend up to 100% of the cost of the work to be carried out. Loan applications require the decision of a general meeting of the residents or a guarantee from the members of the management company’s board.The financing facilities are granted for the modernisation of energy and heating systems, as well as hot and cold water supply systems.
Center-Invest Bank has already made loans totalling RUB6.9m (21 projects), enabling Rostov residents to reduce their energy and utility bills and improve their apartment buildings. One of our first clients was the management company responsible for No. 39, Tekucheva. This company used its Center-Invest loan to implement a number of energy saving measures.
In addition, Center-Invest Bank also has energy efficiency loan programmes for industry, agricultural companies, service companies, and public sector organisations. Thanks to our energy efficiency programmes our customers can reduce their energy consumption by up to 70%.
“Energy efficiency is not just about technical and financial engineering; it is also social engineering,” says Dr Vasily Vysokov, chairman of Center-Invest Bank's Board of Directors. “It changes the way that people relate to one another and their sense of responsibility for creating modern, comfortable living conditions for themselves and their neighbours. Together with our IFC partners, we studied best international practice and we are already seeing the first successes from its application in Russia. We are committed to building further on our positive experience of modernising the housing sector in southern Russia.”
IFC launched its Russia Residential Energy Efficiency Project in 2010. Under this project, IFC works with Russian banks to develop financial products aimed at encouraging homeowner associations and management companies to carry out energy efficiency modernisation of residential multifamily buildings. IFC is also working with government and municipal agencies on developing a legislative and regulatory framework that will stimulate investment in the housing sector.
Commenting on our loan programme, Katerina Levitanskaya, head of the IFC project, said, “Center-Invest Bank is a long-standing and reliable partner of the International Finance Corporation. We are happy to continue working with the bank to finance energy efficient projects in the housing sector and to support lending to homeowner associations and management companies, which, until now, could not access bank finance. We were very pleased that Center-Invest was one of the first Russian banks to see the potential of this very promising sector and to launch a new lending programme that benefits everyone, the bank itself and the residents of southern Russia.”
About Center-Invest Bank
Center-Invest Bank was set up in 1992 by the directors of the first privatised enterprises in southern Russia and a team of lecturers from Rostov-on-Don’s higher education sector.
Today, Center-Invest Bank is the largest regional bank in southern Russia.
Our mission is to provide our corporate, business and retail customers in southern Russia with a comprehensive range of banking services in compliance with international best practice.
Center-Invest Bank is the leading Russian partner of international financial institutions promoting energy efficiency projects. We have been financing energy efficiency projects in the industrial and agricultural sectors since 2005. As part of joint programmes with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), IFC, FMO, and KfW, Center-Invest Bank has financed 190 energy projects in southern Russia to the tune of RUB2.1bn. This has resulted in a 61,170 tonne annual reduction in CO2 emissions (equivalent to the emissions of 35,700 cars).
This year, we have financed 60 energy efficiency projects with loans totalling more than RUB700m; energy efficiency lending is already up 55% on the whole of 2009.
About IFC
IFC, part of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution. It focuses on the private sector in developing countries and countries with a transitional economy, creating opportunities to overcome poverty and improve people’s lives. To this end, IFC provides companies with finance, which helps create jobs and expand the provision of core services. It mobilizes capital and provides advisory services to foster sustainable development. In the 2010 financial year, at a time of global economic uncertainty, IFC’s new investments reached a record USD18bn. For further information, please visit: www.ifc.org.