A task force of the Basel, Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board has issued its final report containing recommendations on voluntary financial climate-related disclosures, which could affect banks both as preparers and as users of public disclosures.
Among the recommendations is the disclosure of potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on an organization’s businesses, strategies and financial planning under different potential scenarios, including a scenario in which global average temperatures increase by two degrees Celsius.
The task force also recommends that banks integrate processes for identifying, assessing and managing climate-related risks both internally and with respect to its lending and other financial intermediary business activities.
These recommendations have not been formulated into regulatory standards or requirements by U.S. regulators. ABA staff will continue to monitor developments on this issue in the U.S., paying particular attention to potential legal and regulatory risks based on subjective assessments of climate-related risks.
ABA is closely involved in these discussions, including in its work with the International Banking Federation through which it provided comments on the task force’s previously released phase 2 report. For more information, contact ABA’s Barry Mills or Mike Gullette.
