Carbon trading mortgages becoming more competitive
August 9, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
According to received wisdom, so-called “ethical mortgages” involving schemes such as carbon trading are generally expensive, with holders paying a premium for their guilty consciences.
However, with the introduction of more competitive rates as the sector gains in maturity, lenders are proving that this is simply not the case.
The Carbon Offset mortgage range from lenders Giraffe is the latest to hit the markets, which features both self-certification and buy to let deals, as well as a three-year discount rate at 5.69 per cent.
Emissions are offset by Giraffe through the Bank of Ireland’s carbon trading scheme at a rate of 5.5 tonnes of credits retired for every year of the promotional period.
The company terms the mortgages, which won an Editor’s Special Award at the most recent Your Money industry awards, “a great deal for yourself and the planet”.
Giraffe also announced today a £1,000 prize to be won by an applicant for either its standard five-year fixed rate 5.88 per cent mortgage or its Carbon Offset deal for this month.
Hips divide industry figures
May 17, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
Home Information Packs (Hips) have won the first round of debates which could see their introduction on June 1st postponed.
The packs were given the go-ahead following a House of Commons vote but now they face a challenge in the House of Lords.
The housing market has been responding to the victory in the Commons, with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (Ahipp) saying that it is good news for the environment.
“Yet again, government has demonstrated its commitment to reducing the carbon emissions of our housing stock and to improving the house buying and selling process for consumers across England and Wales, through the implementation of Home Information Packs,” said Mike Ockenden, director general at Ahipp.
“Industry is ready to deliver Hips and the benefits that the packs will offer to both consumers and the environment.”
The same view is not shared by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) however, which has commenced Judicial Review proceedings against the government over the introduction of Hips.
It has called upon the government to take “action” and postpone their roll out on June 1st.
“The introduction of Hips will have few benefits to the consumer and adversely affect the housing market and the wider economy,” said Jeremy Leaf from Rics.
“The government should be brave and postpone their flawed plans for home buying reform. By preventing this potentially damaging and chaotic policy Gordon Brown could give substance to his claim to lead a listening government.”
HSBC tops ethical bank poll
January 16, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
HSBC has been named as the bank with the best ethical reputation, according to a report published by Covalence.
It is the second annual report of its kind compiled by the Geneva-based consultancy and ranked hundreds of firms on a number of key issues.
Companies from ten sectors were included in the study which was put together by studying positive and negative news-flow surrounding a firm over five years.
HSBC was a clear winner in the banks sector, with highlights such as choosing to go carbon neutral in January 2006 and being named overall winner in the 2006 FT Sustainable Banking Awards helping its case.
The award tops a fantastic year for the organisation and has been well received by company insiders.
“The Covalence report is an important barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field and HSBC is delighted to have been recognised in this way,” said Francis Sullivan, HSBC’s advisor on the environment.
Other winners include Toyota, which topped the automobile sector, and BP, which was awarded in the oil and gas division.
Alcoa also scored highly ahead of Starbucks, which ranked third overall, with the most ethical company across all sectors being named as Unilever.
