Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 6 2024

10 QUICK LINKS AIFMD CMU CRYPTOASSETS EMIR FINTECH IFD/IFR MAR MIFID II/MIFIR OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE SECURITISATION SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG UCITS ASIA EUROPE UNITED STATES UNITEDKINGDOM Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 6 | 2024 • NCAs are expected to gradually deepen their critical scrutiny of sustainability-related claims. To achieve this, they are invited to continue increasing human resources and expertise, making investments in supervisory tools such as SupTech solutions and further embed greenwashing risks in their respective supervisory work programmes. • ESMA will continue to support the monitoring of greenwashing risks, the deployment of SupTech tools, and capacity building. In addition, ESMA will prompt Common Supervisory Actions where needed. ESMA may produce additional guidance for market participants and supervisors in high-risk areas of greenwashing. • The European Commission is invited to reinforce NCAs’ and ESMA’s mandates in certain areas, such as for benchmarks, and make sure all NCAs have the powers to promote retail investors’ financial education. Whenever possible, the Commission should ensure the legislative framework supports NCAs’ access to data. Next steps ESMA says it will continue monitoring greenwashing risks and supervisory progress, including via the ongoing Union Strategic Supervisory Priority on “ESG Disclosures” . Building on the preliminary regulatory remediation actions identified in the Progress Report, ESMA says it will publish an Opinion with views on how the EU regulatory framework for sustainable finance could further facilitate the investors’ journey. Link to ESMA Report here Link to EBA Report here Link to EIOPA Report here IFRS Foundation Publishes Inaugural Jurisdictional Guide for the Adoption or Other Use of ISSB Standards On 28 May 2024, the IFRS Foundation published a guide to help jurisdictions design and plan their journey to the adoption or other use of ISSB Standards. The IFRS Foundation states that the publication of the Inaugural Jurisdictional Guide for the adoption or other use of ISSB Standards (Guide) comes at a time of increasing momentum towards the establishment of the global baseline of sustainability disclosures for capital markets. The IFRS Foundation also states that the Guide aims to showmarket participants how jurisdictions are progressing towards delivering globally consistent and comparable sustainability-related information. It acknowledges various ways in which jurisdictions may use the ISSB Standards, as set out in the IOSCO endorsement decision of July 2023. The Guide also describes various jurisdictional approaches to the adoption or other use of ISSB Standards, including full adoption, partial adoption and permission to use. The IFRS Foundation has also outlined its Regulatory Implementation Programme, summarising the tools, educational materials and capacity building the IFRS Foundation intends to provide in collaboration with its partners to support the growing number of jurisdictions seeking to make policy decisions and design and execute their roadmaps for the adoption or other use of ISSB Standards. The IFRS Foundation also highlights that the Regulatory Implementation Programme aims to serve as a framework for close collaboration between the IFRS Foundation and the Growth and Emerging Markets Committee of IOSCO, which comprises more than 120 regulators across the world (and these efforts will be further supported through partnerships with other international bodies, multilateral development banks and private sector partners to advance capacity building). Link to Guide Publication Announcement here SFCWelcomes Industry-led Public Consultation on Voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers On 17 May 2024, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) welcomed the launch of a public consultation by an industry-led working group on a voluntary code of conduct (VCoC) for environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings and data products providers providing products and services in Hong Kong.