Loans and services for the Green Economy

The Bank supports the green projects of Retail customers through the grantin of loans and mortgages for environmental purposes. 

The financing solutions are not only aimed at those who want to purchase or build an energy efficient property but also at those who want to improve their energy efficiency through energy-saving measures such as, for example, the replacement of fixtures and high-performance boilers, the renovation of buildings from an energy efficiency perspective, the purchase of  environmentally-friendly vehicles and the installation of solar and photovoltaic panels.

The Bank proposes Green - Mutuo Domus: a subsidised mortgage which makes it possible to purchase and build a residential property in Italy with a high energy class (equal to or higher than B) or to renovate a residential property in Italy improving its energy performance rating by at least one class. In 2022, about 15,650 green mortgages of a total value of over 2.6 billion euro were issued.

Intesa Sanpaolo participates in the EeMAP (Energy efficient Mortgages Action Plan) project, a European initiative that aims to create standardised European energy efficient mortgages with a view to encouraging the dedevelopment of buildings and the purchase of energy efficient properties thanks to preferential financial conditions. 

The range of green solutions has been enriched with a series of dedicated services, some of which provided by partner companies.

Intesa Sanpaolo offers those planning to carry out renovation works - families, condominiums or specialist businesses, for example - a special structured solution so they can benefit from the subsidies introduced by the Italian “Rilancio” Decree (converted into Law no. 77 of 17 July 2020). This Decree raised the tax deduction level to 110% (the so-called “superbonus”), usable over five years (reduced to four for expenses incurred from 1 January 2022) or recoupable through the transfer of tax credits, for all energy redevelopment expenses incurred on the building for the performance of works such as insulation, the replacement of boilers with centralised condensation systems and heat pumps, including hybrid or geothermal systems.

A modular solution is available based on the purchase of the tax credit at a fixed price set at the outset as a function of the type of the tax credit, the optional PerTe Ecobonus bridge loan to start the work, without having to wait for offsetting against tax liabilities. In 2022, over 6,600 loans were finalised with around 715 million euro disbursed.

Among the insurance products that aim to cover customers' insurance needs in the Family, Health and Property areas, the XME Protezione insurance policy focuses on protection against natural disasters, providing coverage for the damage caused by atmospheric events such as floods and cloudbursts. The coverage will reimburse up to 80% of the customer's property value. In the area of motor insurance products, the ViaggiaConMe policy with consumption-based plan involves a premium linked to the number of kilometres travelled during the year: once the defined threshold has been exceeded, the premium to be paid will be integrated based on the additional kilometres travelled. The proposed solution therefore discourages the use of vehicles, with potential positive impacts on the environment. As at December 2022, over 405,200 XME Protezione policies with flood and earthquake cover had been taken out.

Intesa Sanpaolo has continued to support non-profit companies that wish to invest in energy efficiency projects with solutions that make it possible to save on energy costs and increase the overall sustainability of the company's activity.

To support small and medium-sized enterprises that aim to improve their sustainability profile and with the goal of assisting them on a path of structural change, associating their economic and financial decisions with their environmental and social impacts, Intesa Sanpaolo has launched the ESG-Linked S-Loan. This loan involves the sharing of sustainability performance improvement goals by businesses, through precise commitments undertaken with the Bank via specific KPIs subject to annual monitoring, certified by the businesses in the notes to their financial statements, and rewards in the shape of special conditions, with rate reductions awarded to businesses that meet their fixed goals. The product is activated through the signing of a covenant based on the choice of two KPIs from a wide selection of possible initiatives. In 2022, 39.7% of businesses chose an Environment KPI.

In 2022, around 1,360 projects with an overall value of approximately 2.2 billion euro were funded (715 for 1.2 billion euro in 2021).

Corporations interested in improving their ESG profile can choose from five different products on the basis of their sustainable development goals. In particular:

• S-Loan ESG, with six KPIs for the 360° improvement of sustainability performances regarding: the procurement of renewable energy or bioenergy and the introduction of a procurement policy that takes account of Environmental considerations; activities to support the community organised on the basis of a multi-year programme and the development of programmes to engage customers and/or suppliers in sustainability issues, for the Social area; training activities for employees on environmental/social sustainability and the development of welfare programmes to improve the well-being of employees, for the Governance area
• S-Loan Diversity, with four different KPIs for promoting gender equality and the role of women in the socioeconomic context: promotion and launch of initiatives and good practices for facilitating and improving female participation in the community; launch of initiatives to drive up female employment rates in companies; definition and implementation of internal policies designed to guarantee gender equality in the business context
• S-Loan Climate Change, which offers six KPIs for developing the company business in an environmentally- friendly way, investing in projects designed to combat climate change and reduce the company’s emissions. The new KPIs regard the procurement of renewable energy, the introduction of “Green Procurement Policies”, the achievement of Carbon Neutrality
• S-Loan Agribusiness, which includes six KPIs for joint-stock companies in the sector interested in protecting themselves against the risks of climate change and in taking advantage of the opportunities that derive from the adoption of more sustainable business models
• S-Loan Turismo, based on six KPIs for joint-stock companies in the tourism sector, such as the purchase of electricity from renewable sources or bioenergy, the reduction of energy consumption.

These loans contributed to raising funds via the Intesa Sanpaolo crowdfunding platform For Funding, which identifies charity projects to support with donations connected with the sale of sustainable products (including S-Loans), encouraging the same companies to make donations in turn.

Solutions for professionals and businesses pursuing investment plans in the energy sector include the Energia Impresa loan, available since late 2020.

One distinctive feature of the business solutions is the support of MLT/Leasing Specialists who evaluate the technical/financial aspects of the investment and its relative sustainability, also requesting the assistance of the Energy & Utilities Desk, where necessary, in the project origination phase, in the structuring of the loan, in the technical due diligence phase, which is preceded by an appraisal - usually performed by an external consultant specifically appointed according to the regulations in force - to support the Bank’s credit assessment, and in the formulation of the final opinion on the technical, economic and financial sustainability of the project. The Energy & Utilities Desk, composed of a team of professionals from the sector, provides assistance for entrepreneurs who have planned investments in renewable energies or who intend to diversify their energy sources, assessing their projects from a technical and business perspective and evaluating the financial sustainability of the investment: a comprehensive service that ranges from credit consultancy on risk assessment and the structuring of the most suitable financial solutions, to advice on new market opportunities and technology trends in the area of new energies.

The IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division (IMI CIB) continues to pursue its commitment to sustainability, promoting innovative financial solutions that respond to the growing need for products more in line with ESG criteria.

Support for the sustainable transition is provided thanks to the activities of the ESG Team IMI CIB, created in 2020 and made up of professionals with complementary knowledge, expertise and experience, to propose domestic and international Corporate customers a wide and integrated range of products and services.
The financial offer includes the main ESG solutions: sustainability-linked solutions and solutions with income linked to specific investments, which make it possible, depending on the circumstances, to use the circular framework or green framework of the Bank’s dedicated circular economy credit plafond.
In particular, in terms of sustainability-linked solutions, in 2022 the Group supported its customers with loans, bonds, guarantees, Social and Sustainability-linked bonds, as well as Project Finance dedicated to the world of renewable energy (wind, photovoltaic, biomass, hydroelectric).

In 2022 the Division participated in numerous green, circular and sustainability-linked lending transactions (bilateral and syndicated). Within the scope of the broader strategy of the Group and the IMI CIB Division aimed at providing institutional clients with additional support in the form of increasingly cutting-edge digital solutions, the “Cardea” portal was also created in 2022, a single platform that provides a wide range of information for transactions on the global financial markets that can be used to define effective investment strategies.

The IMI CIB Division manages relations with the European Investment Bank (EIB) with which, in 2022, ISP signed two agreements to provide credit plafonds for small and medium-sized enterprises for ecological and/or agricultural transition activities, in accordance with shared ESG targets.

In November Intesa Sanpaolo was Lead Manager (consortium director) of the first social bond distributed exclusively on the Intesa Sanpaolo Group networks (in particular, Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking and Fideuram) issued by the Citigroup Inc. Social Bond Framework for Affordable Housing.