Greg Kilminster
Head of Product - Content
EBA issues consultation on new guidelines for ESG risks management
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a public consultation on draft guidelines on the management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks.
The purpose of these guidelines is to enable financial institutions to effectively monitor and manage the financial risks associated with ESG factors in line with the Capital Requirement Directive (CRD6), such as achieving climate neutrality in the EU by 2050. The guidelines outline requirements for the internal processes and ESG risk management arrangements that institutions should have in place, with a focus on:
- The minimum standards and reference methodologies for identifying, measuring, managing and monitoring ESG risks.
- The content of plans to be prepared, which shall include specific timelines and intermediate quantifiable targets and milestones.
- The qualitative and quantitative criteria for assessing the impact of ESG risks on institutions’ risk profile and solvency in the short, medium and long term.
In addition to these Guidelines, the EBA will integrate or reinforce ESG risks considerations as it revises its guidelines on stress testing, internal governance, and remuneration policies. These updates will be consistent with the new guidelines on ESG risks management and supplement them in specific areas such as the responsibilities of the management body or the integration of ESG risks into institutions’ remuneration frameworks.
The finalised guidelines are expected to be released by the end of 2024 and will be effective from the CRD6 application date.
The deadline for response is 18 April 2024.
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EBA proposes changes to the 2025 benchmarking exercise
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a consultation paper amending the Implementing regulation on the benchmarking of credit risk, market risk and IFRS9 models for the EBA benchmarking exercise. This consultation paper updates the information to be collected in the 2025 exercise.
The consultation paper proposes significant changes in the market risk framework, including new templates for the collection of internal model approach (IMA) risk measures under the fundamental review of the trading book (FRTB). For credit risk, the proposed changes are minor.
This consultation runs until 27 March 2024.
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Societe Generale and IFC join hands to drive sustainable finance in developing countries
Societe Generale and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have signed a collaboration framework agreement to promote sustainable finance in developing countries.
This partnership aims to develop innovative financing solutions to support private sector mobilisation in favour of climate transition. The agreement will specifically focus on sustainable finance projects that facilitate access to clean energy, water, and other infrastructure, as well as promote sustainable agribusiness and the financing of projects empowering women entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This initiative also involves sharing methodologies and frameworks aimed at measuring and monitoring impact.
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Australian Federal Court orders ME Bank to pay $820K penalty
Members Equity Bank Limited (ME Bank) has been ordered by the Australian Federal Court to pay a penalty of $820,000 for making false and misleading representations and failing to provide required written notices regarding home loans.
ME Bank pleaded guilty to charges of:
- making false and misleading representations in letters to its home loan customers, in contravention of sections 12DB(1)(g) and 12GB(1) of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001; and,
- failing to provide written notice about annual interest rate and repayment amount changes, in contravention of ss 64(1) and 65(1) of the National Credit Code.
The penalty was comprised of $750,000 for the charge under the ASIC Act and $70,000 for the charge under the National Credit Code.
Impacted customers have been remediated by ME Bank.
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ASIC extends registration deadline for financial advisers by two weeks
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued a stern warning to all financial advisers who are providing personal advice to retail clients without being registered along with their authorising Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensee(s).
According to the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Better Advice) Act 2021 (Better Advice Act), all relevant providers must be registered before providing personal advice to retail clients about relevant financial products from 1 February 2024. However, ASIC records show that a significant number of financial advisers are still not registered.
To address this issue, ASIC has extended the deadline for registration by two weeks and confirmed 16 February 2024 as the final date for the commencement of the registration requirement.
ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland has warned that unregistered financial advisers who continue to provide personal advice and their authorising AFS licensee could face significant consequences for failing to comply.
“After the revised deadline has passed, ASIC will begin a program to check compliance with this requirement and will take enforcement action where we identify advisers who have provided advice while unregistered,” he said.
AFS licensees should apply to register their relevant providers using ASIC Connect.
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