Kudos to Credit Union One of Oklahoma for this news story about its 0.5% rate discount on environmentally friendly vehicles. These kinds of loans represent market awareness and willingness to try something new. If you can be the first in your market to offer a green loan, as Credit Union One apparently is, they can net you some good PR.
Wait too long, however, and you’ll simply be late to the party.
The photo up top is from a Pittsburgh campaign run by PNC Bank. For a bank that hasn’t been traditionally big in auto lending, they offer a ho-hum 5.74% rate for a hybrid auto loan. What’s more powerful than their rate, however, is the implicit intangible: Getting our loan = being eco-conscious.
Some casual digging shows that large financial institutions are piling in:
- Wells Fargo touts its support for green building projects.
- GE Consumer Finance has offered an environmental rewards credit card for more than a year.
- Wainwright Bank advertises a green loan that’s eight years old.
When I ask people what products they think credit unions can use to attract young adults, I often hear about hybrid loans, green loans, or environmentally conscious products. And to their credit, credit unions already dominate a Google search for “hybrid auto loans.”
But the market is already moving on this. Reap the benefits now, or it may be too late.
Comments
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Wouldn’t a direct mail piece touting a Green Loan be a bit of a contradiction?
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They’re on to you, Denise: Billboards and e-mail.
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