The European Commission intends to push back the applicability date for new sustainability-related disclosure rules following requests for more time for implementation from parts of the investment industry.
The move was revealed by BVI, the German fund management industry
body, which said the Commission wanted to separate the entry into
force of the provisions of the sustainable finance
disclosures regulation (SFDR) from the upcoming technical regulatory
details.
As a result, the principles-based requirements set out in the SFDR
text itself would continue to kick in on 10 March 2021, while the
so-called regulatory technical standards with the detailed requirements
will enter into force at a later date – the BVI said probably from the
beginning of 2022.
BVI, which is one of several industry associations to have expressed
concerns about the implementation timeline for the investor disclosure
rules, said the Commission’s approach was “pragmatic”.
“The statements of the European Commission enable fund companies to
meet their future sustainability obligations without having to change
the politically fixed start date of the SFDR,” said Thomas Richter,
BVI’s CEO. “They also prevent a threatened stop in sales of sustainable
funds.”
Without the timeline change, investment managers, pension funds and
other ”financial market participants” would have had to comply with
detailed disclosure requirements from the March 2021 entry-into-force
date for the SFDR. However, the rules setting out the detailed
requirements are still being finalised by the European Supervisory
Authorities (ESAs), with talk of these being ready by the end of January
2021.
The ESAs have also called on the Commission to delay implementation. A
consultation on the draft rules was extended until the beginning of
September as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and later that month
the ESAs launched a survey on presentational aspects of mandatory
templates to be used in connection with SFDR rules. The templates survey
runs until 16 October.
According to the Commission, the SFDR is intended to contribute to
the goal of making it easier to identify adverse impacts of investments
on sustainability, ensure credibility of sustainable investments, and
increase the awareness about sustainability risks.
The Commission has not made a public statement in connection with the timetable change.
IPE
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