The EACB together with seven other financial industry associations has raised serious concerns in a joint letter to the European Commission regarding the current application timeline for the new EU Regulation on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector.
Given the inherent community aspect of co-operative banking which acts as a driver for territorial and social cohesion, the EACB would like to stress that it supports the Commission’s objectives of financing a more sustainable economy. That said, the EACB has joined forces with the signatories to warn that the Regulation is very likely to become applicable before the related Level 2 measures — which explain how the Regulation should be implemented by financial companies in scope — are even adopted. Co-operative banks mainly service SMEs and retail investors, and indeed represent 50% of all licensed credit institutions in the EU. Therefore, the EACB is particularly concerned of the significant compliance challenges and liability risks for its member banks which need to apply the Regulation, as well as confusion for retail investors.
The EACB along with the below signatories has therefore urged the Commission to take immediate action to ensure that the financial industry is provided with a realistic timeframe for implementation. To this end, the signatories have suggested that the application of the new requirements in the Regulation takes place at least one year after all the Level 2 texts are published in the Official Journal of the EU.
The other signatories are:
- The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA)
- The Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe (AMICE)
- The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME)
- The European Banking Federation (EBF)
- The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)
- Insurance Europe
- PensionsEurope