HKEX Plans to Widen Climate Disclosure Rules

Hong Kong’s financial regulator has said it will increase requirements for companies to disclose climate-related data as it seeks to better enable investors to direct capital to ESG-linked assets and companies. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) chair Laura Cha Shih May-lung said the plans would be introduced in pursuit of helping China reach its 2060 net-zero goals.

EU Considers Rewriting Sustainability Categorisations for Financial Products

The European Commission is reviewing parts of its flagship regulation covering financial institutions’ ESG performance reporting. In a consultation questionnaire on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) market participants are queried on the way sustainability products are categorised. This follows complains that the designation of products as Article 6, 8 or 9 – indicating increasing degrees of sustainability – is confusing. The consultation also indicates the EC is considering requiring ESG disclosures for all financial products, even those that make no sustainability claims.

Moody’s Analytics Wins Contract to Fight Financial Crime in European Union

Moody’s Analytics has won a framework contract worth up to €34 million from the European Commission to strengthen its anti-fraud, money laundering and financial crime effort. The four-year contract will be managed by the Commission’s European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and will use the Orbis database operated by Bueau van Dijk, a Moody’s Analytics subsidiary, to access company data, information on connected individuals, and risk indicators.

Organisations working with the Orbis data will include the European Court of Auditors, European Banking Authority, European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Europol and up to 30 Directorate Generals of the EC. They will apply the data to form a comprehensive understanding of the increasing threat of fraud and financial crime in the EU.

Europe Adopts Reporting Standards for CSRD Disclosures

The European Commission has given assent to its own set of guidelines for the estimated 50,000 companies that will be required to report their ESG performance data under the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive (CSRD). The European Sustainability Reporting Directive considers frameworks established by the International Sustainability Standards Board and GRI and will be applicable when companies first report under CSRD in 2025.

GLEIF Signals Intent to Join Global Project Designed to Digitise ESG Credentials of MSMEs

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed a statement of intent to embark on a collaborative initiative to develop digital Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide.

The initiative, Project Savannah, hopes to lower the barriers to ESG reporting for MSMEs by establishing a common framework of ESG metrics to generate basic sustainability credentials and commence the journey towards meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will use digital initiatives, such as MAS’s Project Greenprint1, to generate ESG data credentials that can be housed in MSMEs’ LEI records. MSMEs will then be able to transmit verified entity information and key ESG data to their business partners.

Sustainable Fitch Launches Regulations Tracker

Clients of Sustainable Fitch can now access its ESG Regulations and Reporting Standards Tracker, which seeks to bring transparency to changes in the global sustainability disclosures space. The service is offered with Fitch Group, which provides the data backbone of the tracker, enabling companies to stay up to date with changes to compliance obligations.

FIX Protocol Includes Digital Token Identifier

The Digital Token Identifier (DTI) ISO standard has been added to the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) Protocol, the industry-standard messaging protocol for electronic communication. The addition means financial institutions will be able to use the FIX Protocol to send messages with DTIs both internally and externally.

The DTI standard is increasingly being used as it uniquely identifies digital ledgers, digital tokens and cryptocurrencies using publicly available information. It can also be used by regulators to monitor digital asset trades for anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing requirements, and for monitoring systemic risks arising from trading of global stable-coins and other digital assets. The DTI has also been recommended by ESMA as a risk management measure under the DLT Pilot regime.

ISSB Calls for Feedback on Future Priorities

The International Sustainable Standards Board is asking the financial industry what its priorities for the next two years should be. The umbrella body for ESG disclosure standards organisations said it the four options were to focus on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services; human capital; human rights; and, integration in reporting.

Bloomberg Launches New SFDR Tool for Asset Managers

Bloomberg’s fund manager clients can access a new tool enabling them to identify assets aligned with the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The dashboard-based offering is available through Bloomberg’s Terminal.

RepRisk Makes ESG Data Accessible from Snowflake Marketplace

RepRisk’s ESG risk data is now available on Snowflake Marketplace, giving sustainable market professionals easy access to the Swiss company’s content without having to adapt their internal processes.

Through Snowflake’s platform, RepRisk says customers can be assured of data security, scalability, assessment and governance. Its data is collated from sources other than corporate self-disclosures to ensure investors are provided with independent information.