Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 11 2023

Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 11 | 2023 5 QUICK LINKS CRYPTO FUND LIQUIDITY MICA REMUNERATION SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ ESG AUSTRALIA ASIA EUROPE NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM The public consultation papers are available on MAS’ website and interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the proposals by 18 December 2023. Link to MASWebsite here Link to Opening Remarks by Ms Ho Hern Shin, Deputy Managing Director, MAS, at the Launch of the Public Consultation on MAS’ Guidelines on Transition Planning here FSB Publishes Annual Progress Report on Climate-related Disclosures On 12 October 2023 the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its annual progress report on climate-related disclosures. The FSB states that the ISSB Standards aim to serve as a global framework for sustainability disclosures and, when implemented, will enable disclosures by different companies around the world to be made on a common basis. The FSB will work with the ISSB, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and other relevant bodies to promote the timely and wide use of the standards. The FSB says that interoperability of the ISSB standards with jurisdictional disclosure frameworks is necessary in order to achieve global comparability of climate-related disclosures. The FSB also states that the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) havemade substantial progress in developing a comprehensive global set of assurance, ethics, and independence standards. Themain objectives of a global assurance framework are to enhance the quality and reliability of sustainability- related information through third-party assurance. Compliance with, and enforcement of, high- quality sustainability assurance requirements could serve to deter “greenwashing”. The FSB states that the annual report also outlines progress made by jurisdictions in promoting climate-related disclosures. It notes that all FSB jurisdictions either have requirements, guidance, or expectations in respect of climate-related disclosures currently in place, or have taken steps (for instance, made proposals) to do so. In keeping with previous years, this year’s progress report highlights the findings of the 2023 TCFD Status Report. The FSB says that the TCFD Status Report, which was also published on 12 October, reveals that the percentage of public companies disclosing TCFD-aligned information continues to grow, but more progress is needed. With the ISSB’s inaugural Standards having been released, the TCFD’s work is now complete, and the FSB has requested the ISSB to assume responsibility for monitoring progress on the state of climate-related financial disclosures by companies as of next year, which will help to support adoption of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. Link to Progress Report on Climate-related Disclosures here Link to 2023 TCFD Status Report here FCAWelcomes the Launch of the Transition Plan Taskforce Disclosure Framework On 9 October 2023 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) welcomed the publication of the Transition Plan Taskforce Disclosure Framework (the TPT Disclosure Framework). The TPT Disclosure Framework recommends disclosure of a company’s strategic climate ambition, and how this is reflected in its implementation and engagement approaches, its governance and accountability arrangements, and its financial plans. The FCA states that it has worked to ensure that the Transition Plan Taskforce’s recommendations fit with other relevant international initiatives and within the developing global landscape of sustainability-related disclosure standards. The FCA also says that the TPT Disclosure Framework has been designed to align with the transition planning guidance developed by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, and to be consistent with, and build on, the reporting standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The FCA are committed to drawing on the TPT Framework as it further develops its disclosure expectations for listed companies, asset managers and FCA-regulated asset owners.