While the growth is off a low base,and NAB did not reveal the dollar value of these loan portfolios,group executive for business and private banking Andrew Irvine said the trend showed Australian businesses wanted to invest to lower their carbon emissions and curb high energy costs.
“I think we’re seeing a real step change in the focus of Australians and Australian business into transition,” Irvine said.
“The fact is that the cost of energy and power is pretty meaningfully impacting the business case of making these investments. I think many more of our customers are looking at it and saying,‘OK,this makes sense,I’m doing it’,” he said.
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For example,NAB said one of its clients,Victorian winery Tahbilk,had cut its use of energy from the grid by 39 per cent after installing solar panels.
Banks are jostling to financegrowing green energy investment across the economy,and NAB on Monday launched a new green agriculture loan and a green equipment loan for business clients.
While Irvine signalled lending for commercial EVs,equipment or solar panels was unlikely to continue growing at the rapid pace of the last couple of years,he said Australia had room to continue to grow “pretty meaningfully” in the future.