The European Banking Federation (EBF) and  UNEP FI organised an online event to launch the report: Testing the application of the EU Taxonomy to core banking products: High level recommendations on 26 – 27 January 2021.

The launch event saw 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.

Watch the recordings below.

About the report

This report is the result of 26 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 was 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.

Download the report here. 

Event recordings:

KEYNOTE SESSION: Official launch and the high-level recommendations

Speakers:

    • Eric Usher, Head, UNEP FI
    • Wim Mijs, CEO, European Banking Federation
    • Slavka Eley, Head of Banking Markets, Innovation and Products at, European Banking Authority
    • Lucille de La Jonquire, Director, Regulatory Strategy, Societe Generale
    • Daniela Diedrich-Ristic, Climate Change Specialist, European Investment Bank
    • Antoni Ballabriga, Global Head of Responsible Business, BBVA
    • Denisa Avermaete, Senior Adviser Sustainable Finance, European Banking Federation
    • Martin Spolç, Head of the Sustainable Finance and Fintech Unit, DG FISMA, European Commission

Part 2: Applying the EU Taxonomy to banking products

SESSION 1: Corporate loans & data challenges

  • Marie Baumgarts, Head of Sustainability, SEB
  • Hans Biemans, Head of Sustainable Markets, ING (TBC)
  • Karen Degouve, Head of Sustainable Business Development, Natixis
  • Moderator: Corinne Raux, Lead Author of the report

SESSION 2: Retail and SME lending

  • Véronique Ormezzano, Head of Group Regulatory Affairs, BNP Paribas
  • Laura Canas da Costa, VP, Sustainability Affairs, Credit Suisse
  • Stefan Goetzinger, Vice President, Structured Trade & Export Finance, Deutsche Bank
  • Peter Coveliers, Business Development Manager, European Investment Fund
  • Moderator: Elodie Feller, Investment Lead, UNEP FI
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