Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 6 2025

10 QUICK LINKS AIFMD BENCHMARKS REGULATION CBDC COSTS & CHARGES CRYPTOASSETS ETF FINTECH FUND LIQUIDITY IOSCO MIFID II/MIFIR OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE PRIIPS SIU SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG T+1 ASIA PACIFIC NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 6 | 2025 SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG European Commission Publishes Newsletter on Sustainable Finance On 21 May 2025, the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union published an update on the European Commission’s ongoing initiatives to make the framework clearer, more effective and more usable. The Newsletter covers progress on; • Corporate sustainability reporting, including: – “Stop the clock” proposal; – “Content” proposal; – SMEs and voluntary reporting; and – Revision of reporting standards. • EU taxonomy of sustainable economic activities, including: – Amendment of Disclosure, Climate and Environmental Delegated Acts; – Review of screening criteria; – Adding new Taxonomy activities; and – Review of Taxonomy disclosures. • Sustainability disclosures in the financial sector: – Review of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Link to Newsletter here IOSCO Releases Sustainable Bonds Report On 21 May 2025, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published its Sustainable Bonds Report which identifies the key characteristics and trends tied to the sustainable bond market. IOSCO’s Report includes five key considerations which are designed to address market challenges, including enhancing investor protection, ensuring sustainable bond markets are operating in a fair and efficient way, and improving accessibility. The considerations are: 1. Ensure greater clarity in existing or new regulatory frameworks to demonstrate alignment with internationally accepted principles and standards, support consistency, build investor confidence, and support market participation. 2. Establish guiding principles to help provide clarity and consistency when categorising sustainable bond types. 3. Enhance transparency and disclosure requirements when it comes to reporting on issuers’ progress toward sustainability-related goals or sustainability performance targets (SPTs) to promote public accountability. 4. Promote the use of independent and credible external reviewers to mitigate conflict of interest. 5. Utilise capacity building and educational programs to increase awareness and understanding of sustainable bonds among issuers, investors, intermediaries and regulators. To inform this Report, IOSCO conducted research, surveyed its members and engaged with its Affiliate Members Consultative Committee to gain insight frommarket participants. It also organised a roundtable with the OECD on sustainable bonds during the 2024 Annual Meeting. Link to Report here