On 19 April 2023, the House of Commons published a letter from the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) thanking the Treasury Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations for its invitation to give evidence to the ‘Greenwashing: sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR)’ inquiry. The letter notes that UKSIF and its members continue to be strongly supportive … Continue Reading
On 18 April 2023, the Bank of England (BoE) published a speech by its Executive Director for Financial Stability, Strategy and Risk, Sarah Breedon, given at Chapter Zero’s fourth anniversary dinner. The speech addresses climate action, looking at the collective progress to date in the transition to net zero. Introduction Ms Breedon reflects on a … Continue Reading
On 14 April 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a letter from the European Commission (the Commission) on the Questions and Answers (Q&As) pursuant to article 16b(5) of the founding Regulations of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs). The aim of these Q&As is to help financial market participants apply the Regulation, especially … Continue Reading
On 12 April 2023, the three European Supervisory Authorities (the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)) published a joint Consultation Paper setting out proposed amendments to the disclosure framework under Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation or SFDR). The … Continue Reading
On 11 April 2023, the FCA announced that it would be leading the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN)’s first ever virtual Greenwashing TechSprint. The TechSprint will be hosted on the FCA’s Digital Sandbox and aims to bring together international regulators, firms and innovators to address sustainable finance as a collective priority. UK-based firms are invited … Continue Reading
On 5 April 2023, the European Commission issued a call for feedback on a proposed Delegated Regulation containing a new set of EU Taxonomy criteria for economic activities making a substantial contribution to one or more of the following environmental objectives: sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, … Continue Reading
On 30 March 2023, the Government published the 2023 Green Finance Strategy. The Green Finance Strategy represents the latest policy blueprint developed by HM Treasury, the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, aimed at seizing the opportunities and managing the financial risks arising from … Continue Reading
On 30 March 2023, HM Treasury published a Consultation Paper on the future regulatory regime for environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings providers. The consultation sets out a proposed policy approach for bringing ESG ratings providers into the UK regulatory perimeter, as part of the government’s updated Green Finance Strategy. In the Consultation Paper, HM … Continue Reading
On 28 March 2023, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) issued its fourth and final draft of the beta framework for nature-related risk management and disclosure. The TNFD’s goal is to develop and deliver a risk management and disclosure framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks and opportunities. The TNFD … Continue Reading
In the first of our financial services ESG insight series, Haney Saadah discusses what he is seeing in the market and some of the key ESG pressure points from a regulatory perspective.… Continue Reading
On 23 March 2023, the FCA updated their webpage on the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF). The webpage has been updated to include further Session 3 guides. Written by industry, for industry, these guides build on the CFRF’s previous publications and aim to continue to contribute to the development of effective practice. The guides focus … Continue Reading
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
