Building On a Successful Model in Hungary
The Hungary Program has made the financing of energy efficiency (EE) projects possible in many areas where FIs had not previously been willing to extend financing.
EE project loans and leases in Hungary have demonstrated an excellent payment performance. The program has greatly expanded lending for energy efficiency projects by Hungarian banks both for loans which use the guarantees and those which do not. As a result, participating FIs have developed profitable new business lines in sectors not previously served by banks, thus allowing them to grow their lending business in the highly competitive Hungarian capital market.
Such projects not only produce significant environmental and economic benefits but provide social benefits as well. Some examples include:
- EE investment projects by small enterprises to improve their competitiveness
- street lighting projects by small towns and villages in the poorest parts of the country where inefficient and inadequate public lighting services previously existed
- replacement of outdated heating technologies in hospitals, solving the problem of frequent disruptions in heating services in these entities.
