The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act may have great potential for economic boosting, but we cannot depend upon it to drive new jobs. The federal government website www.recovery.gov provides detailed information on how the $787 billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are being distributed. As of January 22, the government has paid out $268.8 billion in the form of tax benefits ($92.8 billion), contracts, grants, and loans ($73.2 billion), and entitlements ($102.8 billion). Data on the recipients of stimulus funds is broken down by sub-units as small as zip codes.
ShoreBank’s oldest location is in the heart of the South Shore neighborhood in zip code 60649, where unemployment is more than 20% and home values have declined by more than 40% in one year. A total of just one contract and one grant have been awarded in this zip code. The contract was for $1,800 to H L Jackson Consulting Company to review grant applications. The grant was for $200,000 to an organization called Featherfist to provide services to the homeless. That $200,000 is part of a larger $34 million grant to the City of Chicago which in turn created just 60 jobs, although none at Featherfist.
Based on aggregate data from recipients, 599,108 American workers were being paid by stimulus funds in the fourth quarter of 2009. This seems like a pathetically small number, with more than 15 million Americans unemployed. But it merely underlines what should be obvious: government does not have the capacity to be the primary job creator. Government primes the pump, but the private sector does the work.
Recent reports on Gross Domestic Product growth and strengthening activity in manufacturing are the real signs of progress. GDP surged 5.7% in the fourth quarter, fueled by gains in business spending on software and equipment. Manufacturing activity in January expanded for the sixth consecutive month and manufacturing industry employment is projected to increase in the months ahead. Employment is already growing in fields as diverse as textiles, petroleum & coal products, and transportation equipment. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until job growth returns to 60649 and beyond.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that my friend’s condo door doesn’t have a peephole? I do not want to have to look out a side window to identify the solicitor at my door. But, isn’t that exactly how giving through social media feels? Now, don’t get me wrong, I think it is great that the internet has revolutionized and accelerated online giving. The Red Cross has thus far raised over $21 million in $10 text donations for Haiti (and I hope there is more to come!); all nonprofits raised $4 million in the entirety of 2009. But, a reported 4,000 scam sites, disguised as nonprofit relief organizations, arose to take a cut of online donations to Hurricane Katrina. Social media makes it easy to give and hard to identity fakes. With Americans having already donated $150 million online (out of the total $300 million) to Haiti, I don’t want to see this giving trend mitigated by fear of cons. Here are a few social media reminders that will help.
Always check for ID. BBB Wise Giving provides a few tips on verifying online nonprofits. First, look for ID verification, such as a verified badge on Twitter. Second, find out if the nonprofit relief organization has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas. Third, find out if the nonprofit relief organization is providing direct aid. Fourth, rely on expert opinions. And, finally, when in doubt, go with the one you know or just give offline.
Beware of geeks bearing gifts. Just because you have been invited to use a Facebook application or have received a link from a friend doesn’t mean you have to open it! More than once I have received an email from a friend that warns not to click any link from previous emails because of its malicious intent. If something looks odd, it is better to get confirmation from your friend that she is the sender rather than to just open the link.
Limit your social networks. Would you invite your 5,000 Facebook friends to a house party? Most likely you would not. The greater your social network, the greater the likelihood that one of your friends or an evil doppelganger could send you a malicious link that could scrape critical logins and passwords or infect your computer with a nasty virus. Know who your friends are and keep them limited to 600.
Lengthen abbreviations. Bit.ly and Tiny URL are fantastic ways to shorten URLs to fit character limitations. But they are also creative solutions to mask malevolent web addresses. Protect yourself by installing an add-on that will display the full URL. When clicking on links, longer is better than shorter.
As we continue to maximize the profoundly good impact that social media creates, to paraphrase the film Home Alone, our social media profiles are our homes, we have to protect them so we can continue to make them safe havens for giving.
Guest Contributor: Stephen Jacob, AVP, Credit Analysis
Haiti is not some far away place to me. Both my parents are from Haiti and I have family members that still live there. I try to go to Haiti every 2 to 3 years and last visited in 2007 to volunteer with a local organization called Concerned Haitian Americans of Illinois (CHAI). I have seen a mix of improving and deteriorating conditions in the country over the past 10 years, but this recent crisis is a wake up call.
Much of the devastation in Haiti was largely unavoidable. Even if the buildings had been constructed better, it is unlikely any well made structures could survive a 7.0 earthquake[1]. Nonetheless, lax building code enforcement and poor construction quality has exacerbated the problem. For example, in 2008 there was a school collapse in Port-au-Prince that had nothing to do with the earthquake. However, some of the lack of communications and access to roads to help disaster victims can be attributed to a very poor and deteriorating infrastructure. The rush to make sure that those in need get emergency medical attention, clean water, and food, should compel us to think about making sustainable improvements to not only prevent future crises but also to create new economic opportunities that improves the quality of life for Haitians.
Immediately after the disaster there will be an opportunity to rebuild – to begin anew—creating the infrastructure designed to sustain a modern country. In recent months, there have been initiatives to reduce the time it takes to incorporate a business. According to the World Bank, it requires 13 procedures, takes 195 days, and costs 227.93% GNI per capita to start a business in Haiti – this is almost unheard of. Across the border in the Dominican Republic, it requires only 8 procedures, takes 19 days, and costs 17.3% GNI per capita to start a business. Along each of the World Bank’s indices of access to business credit and protection of investors, Haiti is in the bottom of the rankings[2]. Haiti is one of the most difficult countries in the world to do business with—this needs to change if there’s ever to be any hope for catalyzing the development that can begin to transform the country and improve peoples’ lives.
In addition, the average Haitian, no different than most, needs to be gainfully employed in order to provide for his or her family and businesses need either debt or savings to get off the ground. But with the unemployment rate hovering around 50% for the last two decades, gainful employment will require greater foreign direct investment and a growing economy. A long-term solution requires investment in both the country’s physical infrastructure (e.g., roads, ports, and telecommunications) and its social infrastructure (e.g., improved school system, reform of a standing army or national police force, and protection of property rights). Without this investment and the ability to provide access to credit, Haiti will continue to be mired in poverty.
Many friends and colleagues have been asking me how to help. In the near term, money is the best thing to send because Haiti is a logistical nightmare, (especially today). And, if you donate, please do your homework to ensure your donation goes to a reputable organization who will put your fiscal aid to good use in Haiti. I am donating to the Concerned Haitian Americans of Illinois, but I am listing a few other very worthwhile organizations for you to consider making a contribution.
[1] To put things in perspective, the 1989 San Francisco earthquake measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale.
[2] The complete report is available at http://www.doingbusiness.org/Documents/CountryProfiles/HTI.pdf
One prediction for 2010 is that this year will be seen as a defining time for a new industry – the energy finance “industry.” Through the creation of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs, the launch of on-bill financing initiatives, and the development of numerous other types of energy lending offerings, an unprecedented number of new financing options for energy efficiency and alternative energy projects will enter the marketplace.
As I have mentioned previously, most of these new options will by developed and managed by institutions well outside of the formal banking sector. Because most of these new programs involve some type of statutory authorization, more often than not, program design and implementation fall to folks far afield from the financial sector, such as Commerce Commission staff, City Councils, and legislative staff on State Energy Committees.
One consequence is that some basic tenets of lending may not be well articulated in the program designs, statutes, and implementation plans. I will concentrate on four elements that I see as most critical to the energy finance programs and which are often misunderstood:
1. Credit Risk: A fundamental part of any lending program is the borrowers’ capacity and likelihood to repay the debt. In most cases, varying types of borrowers can present different credit risks – a homeowner, for instance, offers very different risk profile than a small business borrower. Groupings that overlook these distinctions can present problems later on as the financing programs attempt to locate the cash needed to fund the loans.
2. Liquidity: Financing programs involve providing cash to pay the upfront costs to install energy saving (or energy producing) measures. The cash has to come from somewhere – ARRA funds, utility borrowings, municipal coffers, banks, CDFIs, the credit markets, etc. In many cases, the initial funds may be quite limited, so the sources of cash are very likely to change as the program scales up. Understanding how these funds are to be obtained throughout the program’s life is a critical feature of the program design. It’s also important to realize that any lending program of notable scale inevitably involves integration with the capital markets – where else will the billions in cash come from?
3. Demand: Even if borrowers with very low risk can be found and cash made available to them at advantageous terms, the targeted borrower still has to elect to borrow the funds (and install the energy saving measures). The notion that attractive capital will inevitably lead to demand for the loan product is highly questionable (see Marrion Fullers’ excellent synopsis of lending programs at http://www.sentech.org/energysummit/documents/3_Fuller_Summary.pdf).
4. Contractor Training and Certification: While financing programs are explicitly about delivering capital in the least costly and most flexible way, providing debt is not the primary purpose of these lending programs – the purpose is to deliver energy savings/production. Without trained and certified contractors and a mechanism for measurement and verification of the expected energy savings/ production, these financing programs cannot achieve their primary objective – even with full repayment of the loans.
Good programs, such as those developed by my colleagues in Portland, AFC First, Renewable Funding, and many others, have these elements front and center in their program design. Hopefully, other new entrants will follow their lead.
January 1, 2010 dawned cold and clear in Chicago, the start of a new year and a new decade. Rarely has a year started with more hope that it will be better than its predecessor. One important survey indicated that Americans are more upbeat about the short-term future than they have been for two years. The economy is recovering from the worst of the recession, but there is a big difference between recovering from a cold and recovering from pneumonia – this recovery will be long and uneven. It will be many months before the fear of a serious relapse can be dismissed. This fear may also be prolonged by the opposing trends in the job and housing markets, which are key economic indicators.
In 2009, over four million jobs were lost, on top of over three million lost jobs in 2008. On average, 575,000 American workers filed for unemployment insurance every week last year. However, recent employment data is beginning to show improvement. Only 11,000 jobs were lost in November, and first-time unemployment insurance claims in December were the lowest in more than a year. Still, the economy has to generate 100,000 new jobs each month, just to absorb new entrants to the workforce.
While the employment picture is brightening, housing remains highly problematic. Mortgage delinquency climbed to 9.64% by September 30. The median sales price for an existing home dropped to $172,600, the lowest since 2003, wiping out trillions of dollars of equity. Spending on construction is also down to 2003 levels.
I actually recently sat down to discuss the economic recovery in 2010 with Lisa Leiter at Crain’s Daily Business, which you can view here.
All-in-all, the watchword for 2010 will have to be Patience.
Are you planning your New Year’s resolutions? You and me, both! It is so hard to continually resolve to create possibilities and to better change the world. I, for one, already save at 20%. I have never owned a car. I try to recycle. I even fit in some volunteering. But there is so much more that I could do to better employ ShoreBank’s mission in my personal life. That is why I resolve to do the following in 2010:
Overcome my fear of our composter. I’ll confess – I do not like composters. Our office just acquired one and I have yet to throw the core of my daily apple in it. My problem – I don’t like seeing the food. Well, in 2010, I’ll just cover my eyes! I know that composting organic materials decreases the production of methane and leachate formulation in landfills. It also creates good nutrient rich soil for another resolution. Composter – here I come!
Offset some C02 pounds by starting a green garden. This year, I obtained flight status from recreationally flying over 25,000 miles. We even blogged on plotting the most eco-friendly way to enjoy your vacation. Using that blog’s CO2/trip calculation table, I emitted 9,250 pounds of C02 in 2009 on one airline alone. I think it is time to claim my freshly composted dirt and to plant my own little urban window garden to at least start to offset my carbon emissions.
Cease procrastination and ask my landlord to seal my windows. It has been over a year and I still have a draft coming in from my windows. Not only do I want to not wear a nightcap, but as we just blogged, one-third of all dangerous gas emissions released into the environment emanate from our homes. This small improvement really will help increase the heat in my home and potentially good paying jobs.
Reanalyze my 401(k). My conservative risk portfolio preserved my assets through the financial meltdown, but it is easy to be conservative when you are a passive investor. It is time to research corporations’ corporate social responsibility reports and to start to look at their long term returns to both my portfolio and to the world. The economy will turn around and I want to be ready to increase investments in the right organizations when we come around the economic bend.
Provide more value to our ShoreBank online community. I brought a new sbk.com to life in 2009. In 2010, I want to bring you, our online community, as much as I can to create possibilities to build your wealth and to improve lives.
I hope you’ll employ your own resolutions to change the world in 2010. I know that I can’t wait to start!
Have you seen a version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol yet this year? Have you ever noticed how shockingly relevant the Victorian themes of materialism and the plight of the underprivileged are to today’s society? These are forces that impact ShoreBank’s communities every day. Yet, in the words of Dickens, “I have always thought of [the holiday season]. . . as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” Here are just a few ways our ShoreBank teams are giving back to our communities this holiday season:
ShoreBank Retail Branches
Our retail branches just completed a 2 week “Head to Toes for Kids” clothing drive. They collected gently used hats, scarves, gloves, and new underwear and socks, for children aged toddler through sixth grade who need them.
ShoreBank Customer Service
Our customer service team works with our ShoreBank customers and prospects every day and really understands that times are tough. Instead of engaging in their annual Secret Santa gift exchange, our customer service team pooled their Secret Santa funds to collect and to donate $300 to REST. REST provides shelter and social service programs to tens of thousands of homeless people in Chicago. That donation really is customer service!
ShoreBank Fellows
Our Princeton Fellows are applying their education to not only ShoreBank but also to mentor 4th graders every week as WITS Chicago volunteers. WITS (Working in the Schools) is an organization that provides individual tutoring to Chicago youth to promote literacy and a love of reading.
ShoreBank Nonprofits & Foundations Team
Our Nonprofits & Foundations Team is giving back while giving to various Nonprofits. This year they are giving customers coffee bags from Aspire CoffeeWorks. Aspire CoffeeWorks offers craft-roasted coffees while providing job opportunities to people with developmental disabilities. But there is always more giving to be done when nonprofits are concerned. This team also collected and is donating over 5 boxes of books to a nonprofit to help promote and inspire literacy among children and adults.
As we enter the end of 2009 may you too be inspired to give as you able, for it is our generosity that can often help counter the neglect of the underprivileged in communities everywhere.
Happy Giving and Happier Holidays from everyone at ShoreBank!
I can’t think of many better New Year’s resolutions than one promising to make 2010 the time for improving your home’s energy efficiency. While the cold weather has descended on most regions of the country, making sure your home is well insulated and reducing energy costs never goes out of season. To help save you 25 to 45% per month on your utility bills, while protecting the planet and making your home more comfortable, I have some inexpensive and easy tips for going about it.
Getting Started: An Energy Audit
Winter is the ideal time for a certified auditor to perform a Blower Door Test which will determine how airtight your home really is.
From our experience with the ShoreBank Home Energy Conservation Loan Program, I suggest contacting a professional to perform an in-home inspection for air leaks, checking insulation and the overall efficiency of your home’s mechanicals and appliances to help determine which improvements offer the best value and environmental impact.
Insulate Your Attic
Be certain the attic hatch is well insulated. Heat loss due to poor insulation forces the furnace to work overtime, costing you more to heat your home.
Furnace
Have the furnace serviced and change its filters on a monthly basis to ensure maximum efficiency. Clogged air filters can make the heating system work harder and is more costly.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat will enable you to lower the temperature when the home is empty or in the evening while you’re asleep. And it can be adjusted for comfort when you are at home.
Check Windows
Quality storm windows not only improve energy efficiency, but also are eligible for a $1,500 tax credit in 2009 and 2010 from the federal government, thanks to the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama last February. Plus you can include the cost of installation for these products.
Older windows can be repaired and continue to be efficient by sealing gaps with caulk, applying new glazing compound, replacing broken panes and repairing loose parts and installing weather stripping.
Decorate
One of my personal favorites, using lined draperies, working shutters or insulated shades, helps cut heat loss.
More information about energy-efficient improvements and tax credits is also available from the Alliance to Save Energy at www.ase.org.
Close Fireplace Dampers
When not in use, an open damper allows nearly 10% of the heat in your home to escape, according to “Preservation” magazine.
Caulk Opening and Holes
For areas around mail chutes, outdoor faucets, cable television and utility entrances, use exterior-grade caulking on the outside of your home.
Ceiling Fans
Set your fans to the lowest speed so the direction of rotation and the blades push the warm air down from the ceiling.
Bathroom Fans
Ensure the fans have functioning dampers to keep the cold air from coming in.
Finally, let’s make it happen in 2010. Remember, one-third of all dangerous greenhouse gas emissions released into the environment emanate from our homes. The small investment we make in improving our home is not only a good return on investment but also helps to stimulate local economies and supports good paying jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the overall unemployment situation was unchanged from October to November. The unemployment rate moved down slightly from 10.196% to 9.992%, and non-farm payrolls dipped by a mere 11,000. Job losses for September and October were revised downward, so over the last three months total net job losses were 261,000 compared to 921,000 in the three summer months. Job losses in many sectors—manufacturing and construction especially—continue unabated, but for the first time in many months there are real signs of hope.
The most heartening sign is the growth in temporary help, which has moved from a low of 1.74 million jobs in July to 1.86 million in November, including an increase of 52,000 jobs in October (see chart). As employers begin feeling the need to add workers, they often start with temporary hires before feeling confident enough to add permanent workers. Another hopeful sign is an increase in the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers by 0.2 hours to 33.2 hours, the highest level since February.
Few people, except those who were recently hired, should be popping champagne corks just yet. Recoveries can be just as unpredictable and long as the same economic downslide that got the economy to this point. These stats are merely signs that the worst of the economic downslide is over. The true unemployment rate, including so-called “marginally attached” or discouraged jobseekers, remains stubbornly high at 17.2%. Both the average and median length of unemployment continue climbing to 28.5 weeks and 20.1 weeks respectively. But, while the November employment picture is still not good, it is the least bad since 2007.
I am often asked to describe an innovative “energy loan” product created by ShoreBank. My answer may seem surprising. In my opinion, one of our most innovative “energy loan” products is the same conventional single-family mortgage product we’ve offered to customers for more than 30 years!
My retort is contrary to what most people think. For many in the energy efficiency industry, “energy loans” have features that distinguish them from conventional loans. “Energy loans” may have different underwriting guidelines (such as higher debt-to-income or loan-to-value limits), more generous terms (such as longer amortization periods) or, may be originated and serviced by unconventional “lenders,” such as utilities or municipalities.
This existential question about what makes an “energy loan” was the focus of a panel at last month’s Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference. Interestingly, a common theme among myself and my fellow panelists was the idea that “energy loans” are not categorically different from other loan products we each have offered for decades. What is different is how we engage with customers to guide them towards choosing more energy efficient products. We all recognized that our existing loan products could be used for energy projects. We didn’t need to create novel loan products – but we did need to create novel lending programs.
For each of the panelists, “energy lending” involves developing ways to prod our customers into choosing energy efficient products. For instance, AFC First Financial Corp (AFC), one of the largest non-bank lenders for energy efficiency projects, discovered it had to focus on educating contractors. Contractors interact with customers at key times, such as when a customer’s furnace stops operating and he or she needs a new one immediately. According to AFC, 80% of consumer choices are reactionary. As a result, AFC needs to be sure consumers are making smart choices at these critical moments. Although having a flexible loan available to consummate the deal and a reduced interest rate for an energy efficient model can help to steer the consumer towards a more efficient product, without the contractor making the consumer aware of the benefits of the efficient model at this decisive time, the consumer is not likely to choose the ENERGY STAR qualified furnace over a conventional one, irrespective of the financing options. So, AFC spends a lot of time working with its contractor network to ensure contractors are able to accurately and articulately explain why efficient models are better choices.
For ShoreBank, our energy lending programs similarly focus on ensuring that our customers choose more efficient products. For example, we provide a free energy audit at the time of loan application to help customers understand the benefits of completing air sealing, adding insulation, and choosing ENERGY STAR qualified windows, HVAC systems, and appliances
The key is to drive consumer behavior towards more efficient outcomes, not necessarily to create “energy loan” products. While the current financial crisis has necessitated a need for unconventional approaches to lending (whether for energy efficiency projects or more mundane credit needs), I hope this crisis does not cause us to focus too much attention on the creation of new “energy loan” products at the expense of creating more effective “energy lending” programs.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act may have great potential for economic boosting, but we cannot depend upon it to drive new jobs. The federal government website www.recovery.gov provides detailed information on how the $787 billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are being distributed. As of January 22, the government has paid out $268.8 billion in the form of tax benefits ($92.8 billion), contracts, grants, and loans ($73.2 billion), and entitlements ($102.8 billion). Data on the recipients of stimulus funds is broken down by sub-units as small as zip codes.
Based on aggregate data from recipients, 599,108 American workers were being paid by stimulus funds in the fourth quarter of 2009. This seems like a pathetically small number, with more than 15 million Americans unemployed. But it merely underlines what should be obvious: government does not have the capacity to be the primary job creator. Government primes the pump, but the private sector does the work.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that my friend’s condo door doesn’t have a peephole? I do not want to have to look out a side window to identify the solicitor at my door. But, isn’t that exactly how giving through social media feels? Now, don’t get me wrong, I think it is great that the internet has revolutionized and accelerated online giving. The Red Cross has thus far raised over $21 million in $10 text donations for Haiti (and I hope there is more to come!); all nonprofits raised $4 million in the entirety of 2009. But, a reported 4,000 scam sites, disguised as nonprofit relief organizations, arose to take a cut of online donations to Hurricane Katrina. Social media makes it easy to give and hard to identity fakes. With Americans having already donated $150 million online (out of the total $300 million) to Haiti, I don’t want to see this giving trend mitigated by fear of cons. Here are a few social media reminders that will help.
Beware of geeks bearing gifts. Just because you have been invited to use a Facebook application or have received a link from a friend doesn’t mean you have to open it! More than once I have received an email from a friend that warns not to click any link from previous emails because of its malicious intent. If something looks odd, it is better to get confirmation from your friend that she is the sender rather than to just open the link.
Haiti is not some far away place to me. Both my parents are from Haiti and I have family members that still live there. I try to go to Haiti every 2 to 3 years and last visited in 2007 to volunteer with a local organization called Concerned Haitian Americans of Illinois (CHAI). I have seen a mix of improving and deteriorating conditions in the country over the past 10 years, but this recent crisis is a wake up call.
In addition, the average Haitian, no different than most, needs to be gainfully employed in order to provide for his or her family and businesses need either debt or savings to get off the ground. But with the unemployment rate hovering around 50% for the last two decades, gainful employment will require greater foreign direct investment and a growing economy. A long-term solution requires investment in both the country’s physical infrastructure (e.g., roads, ports, and telecommunications) and its social infrastructure (e.g., improved school system, reform of a standing army or national police force, and protection of property rights). Without this investment and the ability to provide access to credit, Haiti will continue to be mired in poverty.
One prediction for 2010 is that this year will be seen as a defining time for a new industry – the energy finance “industry.” Through the creation of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs, the launch of on-bill financing initiatives, and the development of numerous other types of energy lending offerings, an unprecedented number of new financing options for energy efficiency and alternative energy projects will enter the marketplace. 
4. Contractor Training and Certification: While financing programs are explicitly about delivering capital in the least costly and most flexible way, providing debt is not the primary purpose of these lending programs – the purpose is to deliver energy savings/production. Without trained and certified contractors and a mechanism for measurement and verification of the expected energy savings/ production, these financing programs cannot achieve their primary objective – even with full repayment of the loans.
In 2009, over four million jobs were lost, on top of over three million lost jobs in 2008. On average, 575,000 American workers filed for unemployment insurance every week last year. However, recent employment data is beginning to show improvement. Only 11,000 jobs were lost in November, and first-time unemployment insurance claims in December were the lowest in more than a year. Still, the economy has to generate 100,000 new jobs each month, just to absorb new entrants to the workforce.
Cease procrastination and ask my landlord to seal my windows. It has been over a year and I still have a draft coming in from my windows. Not only do I want to not wear a nightcap, but as we just 
ShoreBank Customer Service
I can’t think of many better New Year’s resolutions than one promising to make 2010 the time for improving your home’s energy efficiency. While the cold weather has descended on most regions of the country, making sure your home is well insulated and reducing energy costs never goes out of season. To help save you 25 to 45% per month on your utility bills, while protecting the planet and making your home more comfortable, I have some inexpensive and easy tips for going about it.
For each of the panelists, “energy lending” involves developing ways to prod our customers into choosing energy efficient products. For instance, AFC First Financial Corp (AFC), one of the largest non-bank lenders for energy efficiency projects, discovered it had to focus on educating contractors. Contractors interact with customers at key times, such as when a customer’s furnace stops operating and he or she needs a new one immediately. According to AFC, 80% of consumer choices are reactionary. As a result, AFC needs to be sure consumers are making smart choices at these critical moments. Although having a flexible loan available to consummate the deal and a reduced interest rate for an energy efficient model can help to steer the consumer towards a more efficient product, without the contractor making the consumer aware of the benefits of the efficient model at this decisive time, the consumer is not likely to choose the ENERGY STAR qualified furnace over a conventional one, irrespective of the financing options. So, AFC spends a lot of time working with its contractor network to ensure contractors are able to accurately and articulately explain why efficient models are better choices.