Investec Ltd. plans to offer its private banking clients funding to install solar panels and battery storage systems in homes, bolstering its own green credentials and providing a power solution in a country regularly hit by electricity outages.
The offering, which follows a pilot program for 1,000 customers in South Africa, will allow clients to tap unutilized home-loan facilities or have money re-advanced to them to put in place the systems that can cost about $10,000, or significantly more depending on the size of the property.
“We are planning on giving our clients access to multiple providers and exclusive solutions,” the Johannesburg-based lender said a response to questions. “We can help clients with a range of needs” for personal and business, it said.
While Investec says the program is in line with its strategy of committing to “net zero direct carbon emissions,” it may also appeal to people in a nation that's had to deal with rolling blackouts for more than a decade and surging tariffs as the power utility struggles to meet demand. State-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is seeking permission to boost the cost of its electricity, produced mostly from coal, by 20.5% this year.
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