ING offers cashback for energy-efficient homes

ING Australia (ING) has announced that customers who are refinancing or purchasing a home that meets the minimum energy rating criteria under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) can access up to $2,500 in cashback.

The bank is offering up to $2,500 for refinancing customers and up to $1,500 for those purchasing a home.

To be eligible for the cashback offer, customers must score a minimum of seven stars on the NatHERS, a measure that determines the energy efficiency of a home on a score out of 10.

ING said that it would also accept a Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Green Star Home certificate. Copies of certification would need to be received by ING by 31 December 2024.

Customers must submit an application for an ING Home Loan through a broker between 4 April 2024 and 30 September.

The minimum loan size to be eligible for the offer is $350,000. It is available for both owner-occupier and investor loans, and has a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 80 per cent.

The bank also said that settlement must be achieved on or before 31 December 2024 to be eligible for the cashback offer.

The announcement comes after George Thompson, ING’s newly appointed head of home loans, said that ING would be building on its loan offerings with brokers as its priority.

The head of home loans said that the bank would be looking for “under-represented” areas in its lending segments in 2024 and hinted that products and offerings that support the decarbonisation of Australia could be prioritised.

Thompson said that brokers were “the most critical source and important avenue of growth” for ING, noting that brokers write more than 90 per cent of the bank’s business.

The bank also recently appointed new national sales managers.

Sergio Delvescovo has been appointed as the national sales manager for retail broker while Ray Esho was appointed to head the bank’s SME lending channels.

Speaking on the appointments, Thompson said it was evidence of the bank’s intention to “drive significant growth through the broker channel”.

[Related: ING to increase focus on decarbonisation in lending]