Renovate America Receives GlobalCapital's Best Green/SRI ABS Deal of the Year Award

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Renovate America, the leading U.S. provider of residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, this week was recognized by GlobalCapital's inaugural SRI/Green Bond Awards as the winner of the Best Green/Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) Deal of the Year. Renovate America also finished second behind Apple in the category of North American Green/SRI Deal of the Year.

The Sustainable and Responsible Capital Market Awards recognize the issuers, investors, bookrunners, and second opinion providers that have proved themselves successful, innovative, and forward-thinking in their SRI capital market activities.

Resulting from an extensive market poll issued by GlobalCapital, banks and investors were asked to vote on the industry players and deals which displayed innovation or boldness, the provision of expert advice in unpredictable times, or the ability to unearth new pots of investor demand.

PACE green bonds such as those issued by Renovate America have received significant investor interest in part because they do not fund aspirational or speculative projects; the proceeds have already been invested in projects with verified environmental impact.

"These awards recognize the efforts of everyone at Renovate America who worked to establish our HERO bond platform, to complete these transactions, and to grow investor interest," said Renovate America Managing Director of Capital Markets Craig Braun, who accepted the award at the Sustainable and Responsible Capital Markets Conference in Amsterdam. "These recognitions help solidify the HERO bond platform and PACE assessments as a growing, legitimate asset class."

The HERO bond platform is the first ABS platform to solely produce green bonds. Each of the company's seven securitizations has been designated as green by Sustainalytics, an investment research firm specialized in environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and analysis. HERO bonds also adhere to the Green Bond Principles, a set of commonly agreed standards in the capital markets on what constitutes a Green bond.

"Investor interest in HERO bonds is growing with each issuance because the bonds provide significant relative value versus bonds of similar credit and duration," said Renovate America's SVP for Capital Markets Adam Garfinkle. "Our core investor base remains solid and we add new investors with each transaction." 

Renovate America partners with local governments to provide its version of PACE, the HERO Program (Home Energy Renovation Opportunity), to homeowners who finance a wide variety of product installations to conserve water and energy. These installations include energy-efficient products like HVAC, windows, and roofing; renewable and alternative products like solar; and water efficiency products for indoor systems and outdoor landscaping. HERO is unique in that it provides 100 percent financing for energy and water saving products for up to 20 years with fixed interest rates designed to make payments affordable. Homeowners make payments along with their property taxes, and in the event the property is sold, the remaining balance may be able to transfer to the new owner.

Since its inception in December 2011, the HERO Program has financed more than $1.75 billion of improvements in more than 75,000 homes throughout California. It is currently available to 88% of California households, and is scheduled to launch this month in Missouri. In addition to spurring significant water savings, HERO has financed projects that together will save more than 11 billion kWh of grid electricity.

About Renovate America

Renovate America partners with state and local governments to offer HERO, a property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing program, to communities. HERO is the leading residential PACE program in the U.S. and has financed more than $1.75 billion of improvements. This unique public-private partnership offers consumers access to financing for more than 60 types of home energy improvements without the need for government funding. The HERO Program has received a number of recognitions including a Climate Leadership Certificate for Innovative Partnerships by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, inclusion in the 2016 White House Water Summit, the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in California, and the Urban Land Institute Best of the Best.

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SOURCE Renovate America

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