On 20 March 2023, the FCA published Primary Market Bulletin 44, which includes information on diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive management. In light of concerns that there was a lack of standardised and mandatory transparency about diversity on listed company boards, the FCA recently introduced new Listing Rules in Policy Statement 22/3 … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2023, the FCA published a Dear CEO letter to benchmark administrators outlining the issues identified during its preliminary review on ESG benchmarks. This follows a previous Dear CEO letter, sent in September 2022, which highlighted the risk of poor disclosures for ESG benchmarks. The FCA flagged the importance of high quality ESG … Continue Reading
Identifying and preventing greenwashing is a growing priority for regulators around the world. In the UK, there are a number of regulators active in this space, including not only the financial services regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority, but also the Advertising Standards Authority, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Financial Reporting Council. … Continue Reading
On 13 March 2023, the Bank of England (BoE) published a report on climate-related risks and the regulatory capital frameworks. The report includes updates on capability and regime gaps, capitalisations timelines, and areas for future research and analysis. Background In October 2021, the BoE published its Climate Change Adaptation Report (CCAR) which set out early … Continue Reading
On 9 March 2023, the House of Commons’ Treasury Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations published a letter addressed to the FCA, following the FCA’s consultation on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and investment labels. The letter raises the following issues: The Sub-Committee has asked the FCA for a response by 23 March 2023.… Continue Reading
On 9 March 2023, the European Commission published a letter addressed to the Chairs of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) regarding an assessment of the EU financial system’s resilience to stress in the transition to the EU’s 2030 goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The letter invites the ESAs to conduct a one-off … Continue Reading
On 7 March 2023, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a report on the benchmarking of diversity practices and the gender pay gap. Under Article 91(11) of Directive 2013/36/EU, the EBA and Member State competent authorities (NCAs) are required to benchmark diversity practices in institutions’ management bodies. The EBA and the NCAs are also mandated … Continue Reading
On 17 February 2023, there was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363 of 31 October 2022 amending and correcting the regulatory technical standards (RTS) laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 as regards the content and presentation of information in relation to disclosures in pre-contractual documents … Continue Reading
On 13 February 2023, the European Banking Authority (EBA) launched an industry survey to receive input from credit institutions on their green loans and mortgages as well as market practices related to these loans. Participating credit institutions should reply to the survey no later than 7 April 2023.… Continue Reading
On 10 February 2023, the FCA published Discussion Paper 23/1 ‘Finance for positive sustainable change: governance, incentives and competence in regulated firms’ (DP23/1). DP23/1 will be of interest to all regulated firms across the financial services sector. The aim of DP23/1 is to encourage an industry-wide dialogue on firms’ sustainability-related governance, incentives and competences. In … Continue Reading
On 19 January 2023, Science Based Targets (SBTi) published financial sector and TCFD reporting guidance. The SBTi guidance considers climate impact by using backward looking emission-based metrics to quantify financed emissions alongside forward-looking target-based metrics to identify carbon intensive holdings and evaluate alignment to 1.5°C plans and pathways. The Task Force on Climate Related Financial … Continue Reading
On 12 January 2023, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU, a Corrigendum to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the details of the content and presentation of the information in relation to the principle of ‘do no significant harm’, specifying the … Continue Reading
On 27 December 2022, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU, a Corrigendum to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 of 6 April 2022 supplementing the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the details of the content and presentation of the information in relation to the principle of … Continue Reading
On 19 December 2022, there was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2453 amending the implementing technical standards laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/637 as regards the disclosure of environmental, social and governance risks. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of … Continue Reading
On 19 December 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report on good practices for climate stress testing. According to the report, climate stress testing exercises have emerged as a key tool for supervisors to assess the impact of climate-related risks on the banking system. The 2022 ECB climate stress test (CST) was a … Continue Reading
As we enter a recession against the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical instability, we expect to see significant financial crime enforcement and investigations in 2023, including a focus on emerging areas such as ESG, cryptocurrencies, and significant developments in financial sanctions. We predict that developments in 2023 will include: 1. Fraud We expect to see continued political … Continue Reading
On 13 December 2022, the European Banking Authority published its roadmap on sustainable finance. The roadmap outlines the EBA’s work plan on sustainable finance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. The roadmap explains the EBA’s approach and objectives in this area of ESG and describes the mandates and tasks received from the EU legislators … Continue Reading
On 8 December 2022, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued responses to frequently asked questions to clarify how climate-related financial risks may be captured in existing Pillar 1 standards. The responses, which are consistent with the Basel Committee’s Principles for the effective management and supervision of climate-related financial risks, cover the calculation of risk … Continue Reading
On 30 November 2022, the European Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation amending the implementing technical standards laid down in Implementing Regulation 2021/637 as regards the disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks together with Annex 1 and Annex 2. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/6372 specifies uniform disclosure formats and associated instructions for the disclosures … Continue Reading
On 28 November 2022, the European Commission (Commission) Platform on Sustainable Finance Technical Working Group published a report on supplementary methodology and technical screening criteria. The report is a supplement to the recommendations published by the Platform on sustainable finance in March 2022 and should be read in that context. The recommendations and criteria within … Continue Reading
On 22 November 2022, the FCA announced the formation of a group to develop a voluntary code of conduct for environmental, social and governance (ESG) data and ratings providers (the Code). In an earlier FCA Feedback Statement on ESG integration in UK capital markets, the FCA expressed their support for introducing regulatory oversight of certain … Continue Reading
On 22 November 2022, the European Commission (Commission) issued a call for advice to the European Banking Authority (EBA) on green loans and mortgages. In its ‘Strategy on Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy’ (Strategy) of July 2021, the Commission outlined four policy areas in which further work is needed. One of the four … Continue Reading
On 18 November 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper containing draft guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms. Currently, ESMA has provided some principles based guidance on funds’ names with ESG or sustainability related terms in a supervisory briefing on sustainability risks and disclosures in the area … Continue Reading
On 15 November 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced that the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) had published a call for evidence on greenwashing. The call for evidence seeks input on potential greenwashing practices in the whole EU financial sector, including banking, insurance and financial markets, which may be relevant to various segments of the … Continue Reading
