The draft guidelines outline expectations for institutions to adopt forward-looking strategies and incorporate scenario analysis into their management framework to assess resilience against the negative impacts of ESG factors.

By Axel SchiemannPaul A. Davies, and Nicola Higgs

On 16 January 2025, the European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a public consultation on its draft guidelines on ESG scenario analysis. The draft guidelines have been developed in line with the EBA’s roadmap on sustainable finance as part of the

The guidelines set out requirements for institutions regarding the identification, measurement, management, and monitoring of ESG risks.

By Axel Schiemann, Paul A. Davies, and Nicola Higgs

On 9 January 2025, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its final guidelines on the management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. The guidelines have been developed in line with the EBA’s roadmap on sustainable finance and as part of the EBA’s actions outlined in the roadmap on the implementation of the

Three recent enforcement actions highlight the risks of failing to adhere to representations made to investors regarding ESG and biblically responsible investing strategies.

The upcoming change in US administration is expected to bring about significant priority shifts by the federal government, including at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One area of potential overlap that the investment community should be prepared for, however, is in the realm of thematic investing. Citing its core mission to protect investors; maintain fair

Private capital providers, investors, asset managers, and financial institutions will likely continue to face a fragmented regulatory landscape on ESG matters.

By Betty M. Huber, Matthew Green, Henry Miller, Austin J. Pierce, Catherine G. Willis, and Sam Wong

Various US states have taken and continue to take action on ESG investing and other matters, with new variants emerging regularly. Some of the state bills, laws, and actions overlap thematically, and indeed some are based on

This annual publication outlines some of the primary focus areas in 2022 for UK-regulated financial services firms. There has been a marked shift away from dealing with immediate post-Brexit priorities to more fundamental consideration of the direction of travel of UK financial services regulation, and this is borne out across many of the topics covered in this year’s publication.

While monitoring regulatory divergence between the UK and the EU will be a key theme for 2022, other familiar topics will

FCA has published guiding principles on the design, delivery, and disclosure of ESG and sustainable investment funds.

By Nicola Higgs, David Berman, Paul Davies, Anne Mainwaring, and Charlotte Collins

On 19 July 2021, the FCA published a letter sent to chairs of authorised fund managers, which sets out the regulator’s expectations regarding disclosures by funds that make ESG-related claims. The FCA aims to ensure that any ESG-related claims are clear and not misleading, both when a fund is applying for authorisation and on an ongoing basis.

The FCA has published these principles in response to the significant increase in funds applying for authorisation that have an ESG or sustainability focus. The FCA notes that applications are often poor quality and fall below its expectations, and many make claims that cannot be substantiated. The FCA observes that, in general, fund applications in this area often do not contain sufficient, clear information explaining their chosen strategy and how this relates to the assets selected for the fund.

Discussion Paper opens debate on potential new rules to improve diversity in financial services.

By Rob Moulton, David Berman, Paul Davies, and Charlotte Collins

On 7 July 2021, the FCA, the PRA, and the Bank of England published a joint Discussion Paper on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector. The regulators, in particular the FCA, have been focused on diversity and inclusion as regulatory issues for some time. According to the regulators, research shows there is a positive correlation between increased diversity and inclusion and better outcomes in risk management, conduct, culture, and innovation. Therefore, improving diversity and inclusion in financial services is seen as tying in closely with the regulators’ objectives. In the Discussion Paper, the regulators consider diversity and inclusion not only in terms of how a firm is run internally, but also how the firm serves its customers.

This annual publication outlines some of the primary focus areas in 2021 for UK-regulated financial services firms. Some of these topics are attracting attention because they are an emerging trend, or because they are at a key stage in the implementation cycle. Other topics are longstanding, but remain at the top of the PRA’s and FCA’s priority lists.

While this publication looks beyond Brexit and COVID-19, inevitably, in the short term, these issues continue to be dominant themes.

We hope