Second charge lender Equifinance has teamed up with climate data provider Kamma to give the lender a greater understanding of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) status.
Equifinance has made this move due to a growing importance in the demand for ESG data, which requires investors to understand the climate risks of their investments, make climate-related financial disclosures and implement net zero pledges.
The lender said now that the Labour Party was in government and committed to decarbonising housing, the need for ESG data for residential mortgages was likely to increase.
Kamma will provide climate data and analysis of Equifinance’s mortgage book, including new originations, on a regular basis. It will also give the lender insights on how to improve the environmental performance underlying assets within its securitisations.
The firm will also support Equifinance in delivering financed emissions disclosure requirements, measure and mitigate climate transition risk within the mortgage book, and inform the development of the company’s climate targets and strategy.
Chris Payne, CFO of Equifinance, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Kamma to ensure both our investors, and ourselves, are up to speed on the latest energy-efficiency and environmental performance of our mortgage book.”
Joe Webb, chief growth officer at Kamma, added: “It’s impossible for investors to evaluate the environmental performance of property assets without the right data, and finding the right environmental data is a huge challenge for originators due to the incomplete, unreliable, and inaccurate nature of Energy Performance Certificates [EPCs].
“We’re delighted to partner with Equifinance to help them overcome this challenge and deliver the climate data and analytics both they and their stakeholders need.”
Earlier this year, Equifinance completed a £260m second charge securitisation, with funding set to be used to expand business.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
