Financial Services Regulatory Developments in ESG

Pillar 1 – Governance

Pillar 2 – Risk identification, assessment and mitigation

Pillar 3 – Policies and procedures

Pillar 4 – Product design, labelling, manufacturing and distribution

Pillar 5 – Disclosures and reporting

Pillar 6 – Regulatory interventions, investigations and disputes

New co-operation guidance issued by the SFO

The SFO’s new cooperation guidance SFO Corporate Guidance – GOV.UK (published on 24 April) updates the SFO’s original cooperation guidance published in 2019 and comes ahead of the new failure to prevent fraud offence coming into force in September 2025

New SFO Corporate Guidance

On 24 April 2025, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) published new guidance for firms about self-reporting, co-operation and Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs)

EBA key indicators on climate risk in the EU/EEA banking sector

On 25 April 2025, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced the publication of an ESG dashboard.

Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus: Financial services regulation and the carbon markets – the UK perspective

In the latest episode of our podcast series, Hannah Meakin, Saaraa Alimahomed and Simon Lovegrove discuss carbon trading, and the UK financial service regime.

Omnibus I ‘Stop-the-clock’ Directive published in OJ

On 16 April 2025, Directive (EU) 2025/794 of 14 April 2025 amending Directives (EU) 2022/2464 and (EU) 2024/1760 as regards the dates from which Member States are to apply certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements was published in the Official Journal of the EU.

EBA publishes benchmarking report on remuneration and the gender pay gap

On 15 April 2025, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its benchmarking report on remuneration and gender pay gap for institutions and investment firms.

Part 3: Greenwashing in focus: Navigating the rise of enforcement

In this three-part webinar series, our team of experienced NRF lawyers and consultants, along with industry leaders and regulators, will explore the latest developments and trends within ESG regulation.

Part 2: ESG financial services trends in the US

In this three-part webinar series, our team of experienced NRF lawyers and consultants, along with industry leaders and regulators, will explore the latest developments and trends within ESG regulation.

Part 1: SDR vs SFDR and the increasing risk of greenwashing

What are the key differences between the UK’s SDR and the EU’s SFDR regulations?

Regulation Tomorrow Plus: ESG insight series

In the second of our financial services ESG insight series, Haney Saadah covers three recent Regulation Tomorrow blogs that caught his eye: the Bank of England report on climate-related risks and the regulatory capital frameworks, the Green Claims Directive and UKSIF’s letter to the Treasury Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations.

Regulation Tomorrow Plus: ESG insight series

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.

Managing the greenwashing risk

In this session, we look at how regulators are dealing with greenwashing and how to reduce the risk of a greenwashing claim.

Financial Services Regulatory ESG February Updater

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is changing the landscape for financial institutions as a wide range of stakeholders including investors increasingly expect them to make their operations more sustainable.

Financial Services Regulatory ESG January Updater

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are transforming the financial sector as stakeholders demand more sustainable operations.

Financial Services Regulatory ESG December Updater

In this month's updater we look at our latest podcasts, webinars and publications on a variety of topics.

Financial Services Regulatory ESG November Updater

Highlights from June's updater include an overview of The European Commission's sustainable finance package and the ESAs Progress Reports on greenwashing in the financial sector. In this month's updater we discuss the results of the FCA's culture and non-financial misconduct survey, the FCA's three new Climate Financial Risk Forum guides, the Transition Finance's Market Review findings and the FCA's response, GFANZ's guidance and support for net-zero transition and real-economy decarbonisation, The Transition Plan Taskforce's final report on the private sector's transition plans, the FCA's speech on sustainable investment finance.

Financial Services Regulatory ESG September Updater

In this month’s updater we discuss key issues for fund managers in Let's talk asset management Episode 5 - Updated Q&As on SFDR, DESNZ note on extending the UK ETS first Free Allocation period to 2026, DNB Working Paper: Green transition in the Euro area - Domestic and Global Factors and Vanguard ordered to pay $12.9 million penalty for greenwashing.

Financial Services Regulatory ESG August Updater

In this month’s updater we discuss 'Climate adaptation: What steps should financial institutions be taking now?', updated Q&As on SFDR: Key issues for fund managers in the new Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcast, FAQs on the implementation of the EU corporate sustainability reporting rules and mandatory climate reporting Bill passes the Senate.nhouse Gas Emissions Data”.