The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has extended two loans to Unicredit banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina to boost energy-efficiency investments in the country.

The EBRD loaned $7.8 million to Unicredit Bank d.d. Mostar and $5.6 million to Uncredit Bank a.d. Banja Luka, which will be used to lend to individuals, green-technology firms and housing collectives to support projects that suit the EBRD Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, according to a press release on the EBRD website. The loans are part of the EBRD Green Economy Financing Facility taking place in the western Balkans.

The funds will help projects that cut energy losses and improve energy efficiency by modernizing residential structures and adding more efficient windows, boilers and appliances.

“We are proud to extend these loans to Unicredit Bank Mostar and Unicredit Bank Banja Luka as our first partners under the program," Henry Russell, EBRD director of financial institutions for the western Balkans, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, according to the release. "This will send a strong signal to the market where the demand for energy efficiency investments is huge, yet largely unfulfilled. Improvements in this area will benefit the environment as well as residents who will enjoy better living conditions at lower cost."