On 26-27 Jan 2021, The European Banking Federation (EBF) and UNEP FI are co-hosting an online event to launch a report: Testing the application of the EU Taxonomy to core banking products: High level recommendations.
This report is the result of 25 major banks, seven banking associations and five observing organisations working together to test, pilot and assess the complexities of applying the EU Taxonomy to core banking products. The objective of the report is to develop an initial understanding of the application of the EU Taxonomy to banking products and propose a set of recommendations to enhance applicability. It shares key insights on the benefits and challenges experienced by banks whilst also proposing high level principles to follow in order to apply the EU Taxonomy to retail banking, SME lending and corporate banking, including trade, export and project finance. The report also contains eight recommendations addressed to legislators, regulators, owners of environmental and social standards and frameworks, labels and certification schemes used by banks to address the identified implementation challenges, and banks themselves.
The launch event will see the participation of banks, European institutions and other market players, consisting of 3 sessions across 2 days, focusing on the high-level recommendations, challenges in particular related to data, general purpose loans, retail lending, SME lending as well as early solutions and possible improvements.