Wed, Feb 12, 2020
Sustainable Financial Markets – Translating Changing Risks and Investor Preferences into Regulatory Action
Executive Summary
Feb 12, 2020
Guidance for Firms on COVID-19
Mar 31, 2020
FCA Consultation Paper 19/32 – Building Operational Resilience
Dec 05, 2019
ESMA Launches a Common Supervisory Action with NCAs on MiFID II Suitability Rules
Feb 05, 2020
Post Brexit – Provision of Services in the EU
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ESMA Consults on Guidelines on the Assessment of Leverage Related Systemic Risks and Leverage Limits
Mar 27, 2020
Two Non-Executive Directors Appointed to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Board
Feb 06, 2020
ESMA Publishes the Final Report on MiFIR Alignments Following the Introduction of EMIR Refit
Feb 07, 2020
Sustainable Financial Markets – Translating Changing Risks and Investor Preferences into Regulatory Action
Feb 12, 2020
Sheldon Mills Appointed as Interim Executive Director of Strategy and Competition
Feb 13, 2020
ESMA Finds Continued High Risks as Markets Remain Highly Volatile
Feb 19, 2020
FCA Publishes the Number of STORs Received in 2019
Feb 28, 2020
FCA Speech – Enforcement Penalties and Remediation
Feb 13, 2020
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On February 12, 2020, Steven Maijoor (Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”)), gave a keynote address at the European Financial Forum in Dublin on the promotion of sustainable financial markets.
In his speech, Mr Maijoor highlighted that a key cause of financial instability derives from climate change and environmental risks. He noted that investor appetite has moved towards financial products in which Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) factors are taken into account.
Mr Maijoor opined that the public sector should have a more significant role in ensuring that high-quality ESG information is standardized through public disclosure requirements. He went on to say that public authorities must play a part in preventing the risk of greenwashing where products are mis-sold or mislabelled. He stated that “we need to be careful to ensure that investors do not end up buying products which are marketed as sustainable when in reality they are not”.
Focus was given to green bonds, which Mr Maijoor believes require a European standard and stronger monitoring, and to ESG ratings, the supervision of which he described as “far from optimal”. He explained that the methodology behind the scoring mechanisms results in disparities. This does not allow investors to accurately compare the purported sustainability of investments and, in turn, contributes to potential greenwashing.
Mr Maijoor concluded by reiterating that ESMA is committed to contributing to a sustainable European financial system through giving support to required measures across the whole investment chain.
To read the speech in full, please click here.
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