Green finance becomes the new rule for Romanian real estate

Sustainability criteria are playing an increasing role when banks finance real estate projects in Romania, while buildings that meet green finance standards can obtain better terms. These are the findings of a study carried out by Colliers on the local market, based on responses from four commercial banks, which together hold more than half of the Romanian banking system's assets, and two multilateral development banks active in the real estate sector. The clearest rule identified for new buildings is the NZEB-10% standard, applied by all institutions analysed. All six require the primary energy demand of a new building to be at least 10% below the national NZEB threshold, and a project that does not meet this standard may still be financed, but the loan will generally not be classified as green finance.