7 Bsanks will provide loans to help reduce electricity consumption by 17% by 2030

The banks Mercantile Discount, Hapoalim, Mizrahi Tefahot and the First International Bank were selected to provide loans for energy efficiency projects, guaranteed by the State. The tender was carried out by the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Energy.
As part of the tender, the banks competed with each other regarding the maximum interest rate spread relative to the prime rate in the loans offered. The lower the interest rate offered by the bank, the higher the bank's bid was compared to the other offering banks, and it received a larger share of the state guarantee.
The requests for loans from electricity consumers will be examined by an inter-ministerial committee composed of the three ministries, which will examine the feasibility of the requests before they are submitted to the Bank's examination, which will be required to carry out the credit underwriting.
Among the types of projects that will be able to receive loans under the framework of the fund are upgrading of air conditioning and heating systems in factories, upgrading of lighting means for economical means, installation of monitoring systems and optimization of electricity use.
This is the first fund of its kind in Israel, whose activities are expected to help achieve the national goal of energy efficiency and reduce electricity consumption by 17% by 2030 as part of the implementation of Government Resolution 1403, which the Ministry of Environmental Protection is responsible for implementing. This step is another step in the framework of the range of activities to promote energy efficiency in Israel, and will be implemented concurrently with other government assistance programs that offer grants for energy efficiency for various bodies.
Thus, Israel joins other advanced countries that support energy efficiency in a variety of aid tools, inter alia, by encouraging credit enhancement by providing guarantees from the state in favor of financing energy efficiency projects.
In the first stage, the banks will provide loans totaling NIS 1.43 billion, against state guarantees in the amount of NIS 200 million. In the second stage, the banks will be able to receive additional state guarantees in an additional amount of NIS 300 million, so that the total loans that will be provided in the context of the fund's activity will amount to NIS 3.5 billion.
Within the framework of the fund, the winning banks will provide loans backed by state guarantees at the rate of 75% of the loan amount, and for a period of up to 7 years. The guarantee mechanism includes an additional benefit for projects that involve the assimilation of innovative Israeli technologies, so that the rate of the state's guarantee for a loan for these projects will increase to 85%.