Green Investment Bank sell-off: only time will tell how green it is | Nils Pratley

The government has secured green 'commitments' after the 2.3bn sale. In reality it has secured only 'good intentions'

The charge that Macquarie is a ruthless asset-stripper that, given half a chance, would dismember the Green Investment Bank clearly stung. As the government unveiled the inevitable sale, for 2.3bn, to a consortium led by the Australian finance house, all sides were anxious to emphasise the buyer's long-term enthusiasm for its new purchase.

GIB will survive as a discrete entity in Edinburgh. Macquarie will throw a few of its own assets - a couple of windfarms and a waste and biomass plant - into the mix for it to manage. It will report on progress in honouring GIB's green investment principles. It will aim to invest 1bn a year in green energy projects, more than the 700m-ish that GIB was achieving via taxpayer funding. "We look forward to seeing these commitments from Macquarie delivered, in full, in the months and years ahead," said Lord Smith of Kelvin, GIB's chair.