Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 1 2025

12 QUICK LINKS AIFMD CRYPTOASSETS EMIR FINTECH MIFID II/MIFIR MMF NBFI OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG ASIA IRELAND LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 1 | 2025 Interested stakeholders are invited to submit their feedback by 31 March 2025, and ESMA says it will consider the feedback it receives in Q2 2025. Finally, ESMA says it expects to publish a final report in Q3 2025 and to submit the draft technical standards to the European Commission for endorsement. Link to ConsultationWebpage here ESMA Puts Forward Q&As on the Application of the Guidelines on Funds’ Names On 13 December 2024, the ESMA published Q&As with further details on specific aspects of the practical application of the ‘Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms’. ESMA says that, for UCITS and AIF, the Q&As are related to green bonds, the convergence on “meaningfully investing in sustainable investments” and the definition of controversial weapons. ESMA says that the objective is to ensure a smooth application of the Guidelines through common understanding of key concepts. In summary, ESMA says that: • The Q&A on green bonds explains that investment restrictions related to the exclusion of companies do not apply to investments in European Green Bonds. For other green bonds, fund managers may use a look-through approach to assess whether the activities financed are relevant for the exclusions; • The Q&A on “ meaningfully investing in sustainable investments ” presents a common understanding among national competent authorities that fundsmay not be “meaningfully investing in sustainable investments” if they contain less than 50% of sustainable investments; and • The Q&A on controversial weapons specifies that the reference for the exclusion related to controversial weapons should be the one referred to in SFDR principal adverse impact indicator 14. ESMA explains that it has decided to clarify the treatment of Green Bonds because of the imminent application of the European Green Bonds Regulation and the reference in the mandates in the AIFMD and UCITS Directive, noting that sectoral legislation takes precedence. Link to Green Bonds Q&As for UCITS here and for AIFs here Link to Meaningful Investing Q&As for UCITS here and for AIFs here Link to Controversial Weapons Q&As for UCITS here and for AIFs here Hong Kong Government Launches Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong On 10 December 2024, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Government) launched a roadmap on sustainability disclosure in Hong Kong. The roadmap sets out Hong Kong’s approach to require publicly accountable entities (PAEs) to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards – Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards). The Government says it provides a well-defined pathway for large PAEs to fully adopt the ISSB Standards no later than 2028. The Government says that the key points of the roadmap are as follows: 1. The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) is developing the Hong Kong Standards on a full alignment basis with the ISSB Standards. Following a public consultation on the Exposure Drafts which indicates general support, the HKICPA aims to issue the final Hong Kong Standards by the end of this year with an effective date of August 1 next year. 2. All Main Board issuers are required to disclose against the New Climate Requirements modelling on International Financial Reporting Standards S2 Climate-related Disclosures on a “comply or explain” basis starting from January 1 next year. Issuers that are Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index constituents (Large Cap Issuers) are further required to disclose against the New Climate Requirements on a mandatory basis starting from January 1, 2026. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will consult the market in 2027 on mandating sustainability reporting against the Hong Kong Standards for listed PAEs with an expected effective date of 1 January 2028 under a proportionate approach. 3. Relevant financial regulators will require financial institutions carrying a significant weight (being non-listed PAEs) to apply the Hong Kong Standards no later than 2028.