ESMA Publishes Its Strategy on Sustainable Finance
ESMA published its strategy on sustainable finance. The strategy sets out how ESMA will place sustainability at the core of its activities by embedding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in its work. The priorities for ESMA include transparency obligations, risk analysis on green bonds, ESG investing, convergence of national supervisory practices on ESG factors, taxonomy, and supervision. Annex to the strategy provides indicative timeline for actions on sustainable finance.
The key priorities for ESMA highlighted in the strategy include:
- Completing the regulatory framework on transparency obligations via the Disclosures Regulation, under which ESMA will work with EBA and EIOPA to produce joint technical standards
- Reporting on trends, risks, and vulnerabilities (TRV) of sustainable finance by including a dedicated chapter in its TRV report, including indicators related to green bonds, ESG investing, and emission-allowance trading
- Using the data at its disposal to analyze financial risks from climate change, including potentially climate-related stress testing in different market segments
- Pursuing convergence of national supervisory practices on ESG factors, with a focus on mitigating the risk of greenwashing, preventing mis-selling practices, and fostering transparency and reliability in the reporting of non-financial information
- Participating in EU Platform on Sustainable Finance that will develop and maintain the EU taxonomy and monitor capital flows to sustainable finance
- Ensuring ESG guidelines are adhered to in the entities that ESMA supervises directly, while being ready to accept any new supervisory mandates related to sustainable finance
To help deliver its strategy, ESMA had set up a Coordination Network on Sustainability in 2019. The network is composed of experts from national competent authorities and ESMA staff. It will be supported by a consultative working group of stakeholders, which is expected to be established in the coming months.
Related Links
Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking, Securities, Sustainable Finance, ESG, Taxonomy, Climate Change Risks, Stress Testing, Supervisory Convergence, Disclosures, ESMA
Featured Experts

Metin Epözdemir
Metin Epözdemir helps European and African banks with design and implementation of credit risk, stress testing, capital management, and credit loss accounting solutions.

Emil Lopez
Credit risk modeling advisor; IFRS 9 researcher; data quality and risk reporting manager

James Partridge
Credit analytics expert helping clients understand, develop, and implement credit models for origination, monitoring, and regulatory reporting.
Previous Article
EIOPA Publishes Discussion Paper on IBOR TransitionsRelated Articles
EBA Clarifies Use of COVID-19-Impacted Data for IRB Credit Risk Models
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published four draft principles to support supervisory efforts in assessing the representativeness of COVID-19-impacted data for banks using the internal ratings based (IRB) credit risk models.
EP Reaches Agreement on Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
The European Council and the European Parliament (EP) reached a provisional political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
PRA Consults on Model Risk Management Principles for Banks
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) launched a consultation (CP6/22) that sets out proposal for a new Supervisory Statement on expectations for management of model risk by banks.
EC Regulation Amends Standards for Calculating Credit Risk Adjustments
The European Commission (EC) published the Delegated Regulation 2022/954, which amends regulatory technical standards on specification of the calculation of specific and general credit risk adjustments.
BIS Hub Updates Work Program for 2022, Announces New Projects
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub updated its work program, announcing a set of projects across various centers.
EIOPA Issues Cyber Underwriting Proposal, Statement on Open Insurance
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published two consultation papers—one on the supervisory statement on exclusions related to systemic events and the other on the supervisory statement on the management of non-affirmative cyber exposures.
US Senate Members Seek Details on SEC Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule
Certain members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs issued a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
EIOPA Consults on Review of Securitization Framework in Solvency II
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published a consultation paper on the advice on the review of the securitization prudential framework in Solvency II.
BIS Bulletins Discuss DeFi Lending and Aspects of Crypto-Assets
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published bulletins on lending in decentralized finance (DeFi) system, on blockchain scalability and fragmentation of crypto, and on extractable value and market manipulation in crypto and decentralized finance.
UK Authorities Issue Regulatory and Reporting Updates for Banks
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) issued a statement on PRA buffer adjustment while the Bank of England (BoE) published a notice on the statistical reporting requirements for banks.