Notes on Financial Stability and Supervision No. 52

6 October 2026

Green Loans: A proposal for a simplified EU definition

Credit products designed to support energy efficiency improvements in the construction and real estate activities are becoming increasingly widespread. However, within the European Union, there is still no single definition of a 'green loan' that is uniformly adopted by market participants, also reflecting the complexity of the underlying regulatory framework. Based on the European Banking Authority's (EBA) recommendations to the European Commission, the Note suggests a possible definition that keeps the EU Taxonomy as the anchor, while introducing simplifications, also to take account of market practices.

A clear and easy-to-use definition could support the orderly development of the market and help improve the energy efficiency of buildings, reduce households' expenditure and strengthen their resilience to energy price shocks.