The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has added a project to its work plan to explore whether and how companies can provide better information about climate-related risks in their financial statements.

The initiation of the project responds to feedback received from the IASB’s recent Agenda Consultation for the IASB to enhance the reporting of climate-related risks in the financial statements.

In undertaking the project, the IASB will consider the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to ensure any proposals work well with IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and that any information required by the two boards would be complementary. The first two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards are due to be issued by the end of Q2 2023.

The project was discussed at a recent IASB meeting noting that the project will research to what extent the educational material published in 2020 is helping companies reflect the effects of climate‑related risks in the financial statements, and what actions, if any, the IASB could take to further improve information about these matters.

World Council recently released its Guide to International Sustainable Finance Regulations “What Credit Unions Should Know About Sustainable Finance”, a guide to help credit unions understand many of the international standards and emerging regulatory frameworks surrounding climate-related and sustainable finance issues wherein it discusses recent developments in disclosures by the ISSB.

A copy of the press release can be viewed here.

The BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre and partners announced the successful connection of the test versions of three established IPS using the Nexus model and outlined the next phase of the project to work on the real-world potential of a multilateral network that could be scaled up across more countries.  The press release noted the following:

• To enhance cross-border payments, the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre developed the Nexus concept of a first-of-its-kind multilateral network connecting multiple domestic instant payment systems (IPS).
• Nexus prototype successfully connected the test IPS of the Eurosystem, Malaysia and Singapore, allowing payments to be sent across the three using only mobile phone numbers.
• In the next phase, BIS and the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will jointly work towards connecting their domestic IPS through Nexus.

The Nexus report provides details on the early experiments and technical specifications for the multilateral interlinking of payment systems. The success of the experiment paves the way for the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre to explore the practical applications of a distributed multilateral network.

This efforts supports the G20 priorities of improving the cost, speed, access and transparency of cross-border payments by connecting domestic IPS across multiple countries through a standardised and multilateral approach.  The Innovation Hub's Singapore Centre is now collaborating with these central banks to facilitate their design processes, as they aim to connect their domestic payment systems.

This development is significant for credit unions in that it demonstrates efforts to transform the payments space and can have a profound effect on credit unions’ participation and engagement in the payments space.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision met in Hong Kong to take stock of recent developments and risks in the global banking system along with discussing a range of policy initiatives.

In particular the Committee noted that the risks of high inflation, lower growth and geopolitical tensions are posing risk management challenges to banks. Years of unprecedentedly low interest rates underpinned the build-up of leverage across household and corporate sectors. As most central banks raise interest rates to combat inflation, borrowers are now facing sharply rising debt service burdens. A broad-based repricing in asset markets could also expose banks to additional risks.

The Basel Committee directed banks and supervisors to be vigilant to the evolving outlook to ensure that the global banking system is resilient. In addition, the Committee agreed to take stock of the regulatory and supervisory implications stemming from recent events, with a view to learn lessons.

On other related topics the Basel Committee discussed the following policy initiatives:

1. Climate-related financial risks

The Committee discussed its work related to the development of a Pillar 3 disclosure framework for climate-related financial risks. The purpose of the framework is to provide additional bank disclosures about the prudential risks. This framework would complement, and be interoperable with, parallel disclosure initiatives under way by the International Sustainability Standards Board and other authorities. The Committee will issue a consultation paper on the proposed

2. Cryptoassets

Following the publication of a prudential treatment for banks' exposures to cryptoassets last year, the Committee approved a workplan to continue to assess and mitigate risks from cryptoassets to the global banking system. This includes a set of targeted reviews of the prudential treatment, including with regard to the treatment of permissionless blockchains and the eligibility criteria for "Group 1" stablecoins. The Committee will also continue to monitor banks' cryptoasset activities and exposures, including their role as potential issuers of stablecoins and tokenised deposits, custodians of cryptoassets and interconnections with other nodes of the cryptoasset ecosystem.

3. Implementation of Basel III reforms

The Committee members unanimously reaffirmed their expectation of implementing all aspects of the Basel III framework in a full and consistent manner, and as soon as possible, in order to further enhance the resilience of the global banking system and provide a regulatory level playing field for internationally active banks.

 A copy of the press release can be viewed here.

World Council of Credit Unions (World Council) urged the IASB to provide greater clarity in its proposed revisions to the IFRS’ Exposure Draft for IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard (Exposure Draft), that would clearly delineate that credit unions can used the relaxed standard for its allowance for loan and lease loss accounting (IFRS 9 or CECL).  This standard is currently utilized in several countries for credit unions, however, many countries due to the current definition of “publicy accountable” contained in the current definition.  Some jurisdiction tend to view credit unions as “publicly accountable” even though the term as used in the standard tend to apply to publicly traded vs. non-publicly traded entities, thus acting as a barrier to utilization of the IFRS for SME’s standard.  Other countries have allowed accounting standards based on the IFRS for SME standard for credit unions.

While the language proposes changes that would bring some greater clarity to the definition, WOCCU urged IASB to provide certainty in the revisions noting that credit unions due to their cooperative model, their relatively small size as compared to banks, and the use of financial statements by their members would warrant such a treatment.

Explicitly allowing use of the IFRS for SME standard would prove a valuable contribution to the objective of financial inclusion, particularly in developing countries where pro forma accounting systems are imposed without regard for the size and complexity of the institution subject to the accounting standard.  Allowing credit unions to state their financials in conformity with the IFRS for SME standard will not only reduce compliance burdens and provide proportionality but will likely improve the quality of financials provided to their members and regulators.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

The World Council of Credit Unions today urged the G20 to take further action to increase financial inclusion through credit unions worldwide.  Specifically, World Council is requesting that the G20 provide direction to international standard setting bodies to work with national level authorities and supervisors on proportional tailoring of regulations that will allow the unique not-for-profit cooperative model of credit unions to increase access to responsible and affordable financial services to rural and underserved communities.

“While the G20 has embraced financial inclusion as the way to reduce inequality and support inclusive and sustainable growth, they need to take the next step to ensure that local, community based financial institutions such as credit unions that are best suited to achieve their goals do not have unnecessary barriers in their way.  Implementation of proportionality at the national level is key to this success,” said Andrew Price, World Council Senior VP of Advocacy and General Counsel.

These comments were elaborated on in a letter to the finance minister of India who is the Presidency of the G20 New Delhi Summit 2023.  This year it will culminate in the issuance of a Leaders’ Declaration sometime in September in 2023.  World Council is urging the G20 to adopt language furthering the ability of credit unions to address financial inclusion. 

In particular, the letter notes financial inclusion reduces inequality, which in turn supports inclusive and sustainable growth by allowing the vulnerable to remain healthy, stay out of poverty, pay for education and accumulate human capital. The proportionate application of International Standards for financial regulation is the key and a critical factor in enabling innovative financial inclusion through credit unions and achieving this goal.  The request would insure that international standard setting bodies work with national-level authorities to ensure the proper implementation of proportionality.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

On February 23, 2023, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) released its G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, Priority actions for achieving the G20 targets, which was provided to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meeting that took place on February 24-25^th. The report outlines analysis and stocktakes (including stockholder feedback) garnered over the first two years following its endorsement of its Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, released in 2020. In addition to highlighting its priority actions for attaining G20 targets, the report details actions to meet the quantitative targets by 2027 to “provide accountability and ambition”. To address the FSB’s priorities, it will work with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) under two industry taskforces; and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank will give technical assistance to jurisdictions outside of the G20’s purview.

The next phase of the FSB’s work on enhancing cross-border payments will consist of three priority themes:

• Payment system interoperability and extension. Actions include the extension of RTGS operation hours, interlinking payment systems, creating a forum for central banks to exchange practices, and finalizing requirements for cross-border payment service level agreements.
• Legal, regulatory and supervisory finalizing frameworks. Actions include promoting efficient legal, regulatory and supervisory environment for cross-border payments, improving consistency of bank and non-bank regulation and supervision, enhancing information provided to end-users, and updating the application of AML/CFT rules.
• Cross-border data exchange and message standards. Actions include facilitating cross-border data exchange and standardizing messaging formats, enhancing interaction between data frameworks and cross-border payments, improving API coordination, and exploring enhanced use of the legal entity identifier (LEI).

More information on the FSB’s its G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, Priority actions for achieving the G20 targets is available here.

On February 28, 2023, the European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the creation of European Green Bonds (EuGB) as another step in its strategy to finance sustainable growth and “transition to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient economy”. It must be adopted by both institutions for finalization and will apply 12 months after it is entered into force. The green bonds will help issuers substantiate that the green projects they are funding are legitimate and supported by the EU taxonomy, as well as to reduce greenwashing. National competent authorities of each member state will supervise the issuance of green bonds.

In addition to a registration system for the green bonds, a supervisory framework, and voluntary disclosure requirements, “This regulation lays down uniform requirements for issuers of bonds that wish to use the designation ‘European green bond’ or ‘EuGB’ for their environmentally sustainable bonds that are aligned with the EU taxonomy and made available to investors globally.” All proceeds will be invested in economic activities under the EU taxonomy. For sectors that are not covered by the taxonomy, specific activities will be subject to a 15% flexibility pocket.

More information on the green bonds provisional agreement is available here. 

On February 8, 2023, the European Commission announced its members for the new mandate of the Platform on Sustainable Finance via a published list. The Platform on Sustainable Finance is an advisory body that is “subject to the Commission’s horizontal rules for expert groups”,[1] and will advise the Commission on the implementation and usability of the EU taxonomy with three leading deliverables, including:

1. “advising on the usability of the EU taxonomy and wider sustainable finance framework
2. advising on the technical screening criteria for the EU taxonomy
3. monitoring capital flows into sustainable investments”

The Platform consists of 28 members, five observers with environmental and sustainable finance expertise reigning from the private sector, seven directly re-appointed permanent members stemming from EU agencies and bodies, nine EU institutions and international organization sitting as observers, and Helena Viñes Fiestas as appointed Chair (inter alia Commissioner of the Spanish Financial Markets Authority and a member of the UN High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero Pledges).

More information on the Platform on Sustainable finance can be found here and on the Platform’s website here.

[1] See, Platform on Sustainable Finance, European Commission, at: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/sustainable-finance/overview-sustainable-finance/platform-sustainable-finance_en#introduction.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) released a report, Operational and technical considerations for extending and aligning payment system operating hours for cross-border payments: An analytical framework, to aid central banks and operators who plan to extend real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system operating hours with a systemic approach to render these services effectively. The report works in conjunction with the BIS May 2022 report, Extending and aligning payment system operating hours for cross-border payments. According to the report, “An extension and alignment of payment system operating hours across jurisdictions could help to speed up cross-border payments, especially between jurisdictions with significant time zone differences. It could also improve liquidity management, reduce settlement risk and enhance the performance of cross-border payment arrangements.”

While the 2022 report focused on three options for extending RTGS system operating hours to enhance for cross-border payments, including incremental increases in operating hours on current operating days, inclusion of current non-operating days, and extension to 24/7 operating hours, the 2023 report gives attention to current operating days as a short term strategy. Medium and long-term strategies are still under consideration.  

More information on BIS’ report on Operational and technical considerations for extending and aligning payment system operating hours for cross-border payments: An analytical framework, is available here.

On February 20, 2023, in advance of the G20 meeting on February 24-25, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) released its letter from Chair, Klaas Knot to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors outlining its 2023 work including its objective “to monitor and address these vulnerabilities”. The letter also includes three reports covering non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI), crypto-assets and decentralized finance, and cross border payments. The FSB believes caution should be exercised when evaluating the current global economy due to “record-high” debt levels, “rising debt service costs and stretched asset valuations in some key markets". Further, the FSB plans to enhance cyber and operational resilience and will provide a revised report on cyber incident reporting. They will also work on enhancing disclosures, data and climate-related vulnerability analysis to address climate-related financial risks.

The key elements of the FSB's reports include:

• Non-bank financial intermediation: The Financial Stability Aspects of Commodity Markets report concentrates on vulnerabilities within the non-bank sector, specifically in the physical and derivatives commodities markets.
• Crypto-assets and decentralized finance: The report on The Financial Stability Risks of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) highlights vulnerabilities in DeFi systems and refers to policy recommendations to address the risks associated with DeFi, as well as data gaps for risk monitoring.
• Cross-border payments: The FSB will publish a report regarding the implementation of the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments. Two task forces will be formed “to strengthen private sector participation in taking the Roadmap forward.”

More information on the FSB’s work plans for 2023 are available here.

The Bank for International Settlements issued its Bulletin entitled Addressing the risks in crypto: laying out the options to address the recent failures involving several major crypto firms.  This issues has become increasingly pressing as these emerging markets are going through booms and busts.  While they have not yet threatened financial stability the scale and prominence of these recent failures highlight the need to address the risks before crypto markets can evolve into systemic contagions.

The reports key takeaways are as follows: 

• The recent high-profile failures of FTX and other crypto firms have re-ignited the debate on the appropriate policy response to address the risks in crypto, including through regulation.
• The "shadow financial" functions enabled by crypto markets share many of the vulnerabilities of traditional finance. These risks are exacerbated by specific features of crypto.
• Authorities may consider different – not mutually exclusive – lines of action to tackle the risks in crypto. These include containment or regulation of the crypto sector or an outright ban.
• Central banks and public authorities could also work to make TradFi more attractive. A key option is to encourage sound innovation with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

A copy of the report can be viewed here.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued its Evaluation of the impact and efficacy of the Basel III reforms noting that the more sophisticated and multi-dimensional framework introduced through Basel III to address a variety of risks to enhance bank resilience came at the cost of greater regulatory complexity.  With respect to this complexity, the report notes a position that has been consistently argued by the World Council that “complex rules applied to simple banking activities may limit competition, giving advantages to larger and more complex banks, potentially providing incentives for banks to become even more complex and aggravating the [too big to fail] problem.”

World Council on numerous occasions to the Basel Committee stated that compliance with overly complex regulations disproportionately affect credit unions as compared to larger more complex financial institutions.  Their findings note that there are several drawbacks to a complex regulatory framework including challenges to capital planning and could lead to spurious risk assessments and a misallocation of capital.

These findings should now be of use to national level-regulators when implementing the Basel III framework who should take a proportional approach to regulations for credit unions, consistent with the proportionality built into the Basel III framework and consistent with other guidance issued by the Basel Committee.

Additionally, the report provides a holistic evaluation of the impact and efficacy of the implemented Basel III reforms assessing whether the implemented reforms have met their intended objectives, in particular of increasing bank resilience and reducing systemic risk. It also examines some potential unintended effects, notably on banks' lending and capital costs.  This report specifically provides evidence on the following:

• the impact of the capital and liquidity reforms on bank resilience and systemic risk;
• potential side effects on banks' lending and capital costs; and
• interactions among elements of the reforms and the regulatory complexity within the Basel Framework.

 A copy of the report can be viewed here.

The Basel Committee finalized its prudential standard on Cryptoasset Exposures which has been endorsed by the Committee’s oversight body, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision. The document sets out the final standard which the Committee has agreed to implement by 1 January 2025. The text will be incorporated into the consolidated Basel Framework shortly. After final incorporation, the standard will need to be adopted by national-level regulators before being applied to financial institutions. 

The Basel Committee stated that “[t]he standard will provide a robust and prudent global regulatory framework for internationally active banks' exposures to cryptoassets that promotes responsible innovation while preserving financial stability.”

The standard requires financial institutions to classify cryptoassets on an ongoing basis into two groups:

1. Cryptoassets that meet a full set of classification conditions covering tokenized traditional assets and cryptoassets and includes an effective stabilization mechanism;
2. Unbacked cryptoassets and cryptoassets that fail to meet any of the classification conditions and pose additional and higher risk compated with group one, accompanied by a complicated capital treatment.

A copy of the finalized standard can be viewed here.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision approved its 2023-2024 Work Programme outlining its strategic priorities for its policy, supervision and implementation activities.  The Committee will focus on the following key themes:

• Emerging risks and horizon scanning
• Digitalisation of finance
• Climate-related financial risks
• Monitoring and review of existing standards and guidance
• Implementation and evaluation

On digitalization the Committee will focus on the emergence of new entrants/suppliers in the banking system, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data and governance arrangements. The Committee will also conduct a deep dive analysis on the supervisory implications of Banking as a Service. Further, the Committee will continue to assess bank-related developments in cryptoasset markets, including the role of banks as stablecoin issuers, custodians of cryptoassets and broader potential channels of interconnections with the cryptoasset ecosystem as well as blockchain technology.

On sustainable finance, the Committee will continue to pursue a holistic approach to address climate-related financial risks to the global banking system. This will include work across all three pillars of regulation, supervision and disclosure. This includes considering whether additional regulatory measures are needed to address climate-related risks.

A copy of the work programme can be viewed here.

The World Council of Credit Unions urged the Financial Stability Board to consider the impact of it’s proposed revisions to international standards trying to achieve greater convergence in cyber incident reporting.  The comments came as part of the FSB’s consultation seeking to strengthen and harmonize frameworks surrounding operational resilience and the desire to increase efforts to reign in the effects of cyber incidents.

World Council agreed strongly with aspects of the consultation that are designed to get at the core roots and causes of cyber incidents.  It acknowledged that the findings of the FSB that cyber incidents are growing in frequency and sophistication and the risk of contagion across borders and sectors due to the growing interconnectedness of the financial system is likewise increasing.  It also noted that the FSB’s focus on increasing the sharing of timely and accurate information is well placed to create a system that is effective for incident response, recovery and promoting financial stability. 

World Council expressed concerns, however, that the solutions often called for expensive and extensive regulatory requirements that are not tailored to the size, risk, and complexity of credit unions, noting that credit unions rarely operate on a cross-border basis, are small in size as compared to large banks, and therefore pose little risk of contagion or “spill-over” effects on other countries.  World Council suggested that reporting be limited to simple, but actionable reporting and reporting that could be accomplished through established regulatory reporting without the need to create new bureaucracies.

The FSB is conducting this review at the request of the G20 and the ever increasing concern from regulators about the risk posed by cyber incidents.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

The G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration issued November 15-16 in Bali, Indonesia addresses several issues critical to credit unions.  Issues surrounding Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Finance and Climate Change, Payments, Cryptocurrencies, Women and Vulnerable Populations, Anti-Money Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism, Cybersecurity and others were addressed.  This key document gives direction to the international standard setting bodies (i.e. Basel Committee, IASB, FATF, FSB, etc.) who will focus their workplans on issues addressed in this document. 

This is significant for credit union as it ultimately will shape regulations adopted at the national level for credit unions.  Of importance is the embrace of addressing financial inclusion which supports the risk-based approach and proportionate legal and regulatory frameworks.  This will assist convincing national-level regulators the importance of properly tailoring rules for credit unions so that they can better serve their members.

The continued focus on payments and achieving faster, cheaper, more transparent, more inclusive cross-border payments continues to receive high emphasis from the G20.  Much work is underway that will have a transformative effect on the payments space.

Finally, climate and sustainable finance and how to transform the world, businesses, society, and others to meet climate goals is a major theme throughout the Declaration.  Ultimately, credit unions will play a role in addressing these changes as well as receiving their accompanying share of regulatory burden. 

A summary of all of the provisions as well as their impact on credit unions can be viewed here.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) noted that the gradual withdrawal of relief measures granted during the COVID-19 crisis are best withdrawn gradually. This came as part of the FSB’s report to the G20 looking at financial policies in the wake of COVID-19 aimed at supporting equitable recovery and addressing the effects from scarring in the financial sector.

The report specifically notes the following:

FSB consulted on these measures where WOCCU noted in its comment letter that it is clear that national-level regulators should have the flexibility to have an orderly and gradual withdrawal of those COVID-19 related relief measures so as to not create unnecessary shocks to the balance sheets of credit unions. This is particularly prescient given the current global economy, increasing inflation, the effects from the conflict in Ukraine and many other localized events.

This guidance provides clear direction that national-level regulators can and should use flexibility in unwinding relief measures for credit unions.

On November 10, 2022, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its progress report on Enhancing the Resilience of Non-Bank Financial Intermediation (NBFI), which was provided to the G20, analyzing NBFI liquidity imbalances during times of financial market stress. The report includes policy proposals directed to issues of systemic risk, especially in light of stressors within the commodities and bond markets; as well as solutions of vulnerabilities identified in “money market funds, open-ended funds, margining practices, bond market liquidity, and cross-border USD funding in emerging market economies (EMEs).” The FSB plans to work with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to improve short-term funding markets, and any other work to develop the resilience of liquidity provision in core bond markets.

More information on the FSB's progress report to the G20 can be found here.

On November 8, 2022, the European Council reached a decision on its general approach to Basel III regulatory reforms, namely proposals on amendments to the capital requirements directive (CRD) and the capital requirements regulation (CRR). The Council hopes that by implementing these reforms, it will “boost the resilience of banks operating in the Union and strengthen their supervision and risk management”.

The “output floor” which uses internal models to calculate minimum capital requirements, will apply to both individual and group banking levels, however, member states will have discretion, within its own country, to apply the output floor at the highest level of consolidation. In addition to enhanced technical improvements to credit and market risk and several other improvements, the Council’s position on the implementation of Basel III reforms will enhance proportionality rules for small banks, specifically for disclosure requirements as they pertain to small and non-complex financial institutions. The European Commission previously presented its proposal on the review of the CRD and CRR regulations on October 27, 2021-- next steps include negotiations with the European Parliament to finalize a version of the texts and finalizing the implementation of Basel III international agreements into EU law.

More information on the European Council’s position on the proposals amending the CRD and CRR , is available here.

On October 26, 2022, the European Commission adopted legislation it anticipates will make euro based instant payments more accessible in the EU through affordable, secure, and uninterrupted processing. The legislation, which is an amendment to the 2012 Regulation on the Single Euro Payments Regulation (SEPA), applies to all citizens and businesses in the EU and EEA countries that hold a bank account. The speed and ease of instant payments “help to significantly improve cash flow, and bring cost savings for businesses, especially for SMEs, including retailers”, with payments processing at anytime within ten seconds. According the press release from the Commission, only 11% of EU euro credit transfers were made using instant payments at the beginning of 2022, and the Commission hopes to increase that percentage through SEPA. The legislation is part of a commitment made through the Commission's 2020 Retail Payments Strategy, to improve instant payments. 

SEPA is comprised of four requirements:

• “Making instant euro payments universally available, with an obligation on EU payment service providers that already offer credit transfers in euro to offer also their instant version within a defined period.
• Making instant euro payments affordable, with an obligation on payment service providers to ensure that the price charged for instant payments in euro does not exceed the price charged for traditional, non-instant credit transfers in euro.
• Increasing trust in instant payments, with an obligation on providers to verify the match between the bank account number (IBAN) and the name of the beneficiary provided by the payer in order to alert the payer of a possible mistake or fraud before the payment is made.
• Removing friction in the processing of instant euro payments while preserving the effectiveness of screening of persons that are subject to EU sanctions, through a procedure whereby payment service providers will verify at least daily their clients against EU sanctions lists, instead of screening all transactions one by one.”

More information on the SEPA legislation is available here.

On October 13, 2022, the Financial Stability Board released two reports on climate-related risks that were provided to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their October 12-13, 2022 meeting. The reports follow the FSB’s 2021 publication of its Roadmap for Addressing Climate-related Financial Risks, and consist of recommendations for supervisory and regulatory approaches to climate-related risks, and progress made to climate-related disclosures.

The FSB’s final report on Supervisory and Regulatory Approaches to Climate-Related Risks, address “approaches to monitor, manage and mitigate cross-sectoral and system-wide risks arising from climate change and to promote consistent approaches across sectors and jurisdictions”; and the Progress Report on Climate-Related Disclosures, assesses the progress made over the past year by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) on developing its global baseline climate reporting standard, as well as work by international standard setters (national and regional authorities), and by firms regarding sustainability reporting. The FSB’s goal is to strengthen disclosures so that they are consistent and effective. The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which was created by the FSB, also released a 2022 status report on "TCFD-aligned disclosures”.

The final report on Supervisory and Regulatory Approaches to Climate-Related Risks, highlights:

• Supervisory and regulatory reporting and collection of climate-related data from financial institutions.
• System-wide supervisory and regulatory approaches and the extent to which supervisory and regulatory tools and policies address climate-related risk.
• Early consideration of other potential macroprudential policies and tools.

The Progress Report on Climate-Related Disclosures, highlights:

• Progress made by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in developing its global baseline standard.
• Actions undertaken by jurisdictions to require or promote climate-related disclosures.
• Firms’ progress in making climate-related disclosures, as reported in the 2022 TCFD Status Report.

More information on the FSB’s reports on climate-related risks and climate-related disclosures is available here.

In anticipation of G20 meeting on October 12-13, 2022, in Afghanistan, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Chair, Klass Knot, drafted a letter to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors regarding challenges to global financial stability. Since the Chair’s previous letter on financial challenges that was released in July, financial conditions have intensified with inflation increasing, issues related commodity markets or hidden leverage growing, and other vulnerabilities contributing to a weakening economic outlook.

The letter maintains that the FSB will continue to work on addressing these issues including a November progress report on strengthening the resilience of non-bank financial intermediation. Other reports on a regulatory framework for crypto-assets, improving cross-border payments, cyber risks, and climate-related financial risks will be made available for the G20 meeting in Afghanistan. The letter also mentions work on “Interoperability between the common global baseline and national and regional jurisdiction-specific requirements”, in addition to a publication of an October 13 status report on the FSB’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) recommendations. The ISSB rely upon the TCFD's recommendations for its accounting standards, as well as by most FSB jurisdictions as a reference point. The letter also urges action by companies to improve disclosures related to climate-related financial risks.

On October 13, the FSB further plans to release two reports on climate-related financial risks. One report will involve the FSB's recommendations on supervisory and regulatory approaches to climate-related risks subject to stakeholder comments from a public consultation, and the second report will discuss useful and consistent climate-related disclosures.

More information on the FSB’s work on financial stability challenges and the Chair’s letter is available here.

On October 10, 2022, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its Consolidated Progress Report for 2022 and Priorities for the Next Phase of Work, as a next phase for its work under the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments. The FSB wants to strengthen external engagement and partnership under the priorities, and plan to deliver both reports to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meeting in Washington, DC on October 12-13, 2022. While the work under the 2021 and 2022 Roadmaps was foundational, the current “Roadmap has now reached an inflection point and needs to move to practical initiatives to enhance payment arrangements”. The FSB will focus three priority themes: Payment system interoperability and extension; legal, regulatory and supervisory frameworks; and cross-border data exchange and message standards.

With a 2027 target date, the FSB joins the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), and other partners to set priorities for cross-border payments that will have the most impact, thereby enhancing the cost, speed, access and transparency of cross-border payments. The FSB has planned a Cross-border Payments Summit that will take place this month with leaders from both private and public sectors participating.

More information on the FSB’s priorities for enhancing cross-border payments is available here.

WOCCU urged the Financial Stability Board to provide maximum flexibility to national level regulators in the withdrawal of relief measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The comments cam as part of the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) consultative report on the Exit strategies to support equitable recovery and address effects from COVID-19 scarring in the financial sector.

WOCCU noted their concern the impact and potential increase in institutional stress that a rapid withdrawal of relief will cause. Due to the consequences of the pandemic, characterized by high levels of unemployment, the deterioration of specific sectors of the economy and the loss of individual purchasing power, and the impact the war in Ukraine, inflation, rising gas prices, and other increasing costs, many financial entities may experience solvency, liquidity, and other problems in the short and medium term. Depending on the reality of each country and individual credit unions, a generalized deterioration in the quality of financial assets could generate a systemic contagion effect in the financial system of a country, or within the credit union sector.

WOCCU has long urged national-level regulators to work closely with credit unions on providing reasonable and attainable plans to restore norms that existed prior to the pandemic.  WOCCU will continue to work with international standard setters and national level regulators as the withdrawal of COVID-19 related relief measures are withdrawn.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

On July 14-15, 2022, the Basel Committee held a meeting to discuss several issues including, but not limited to: necessary measures to address climate-related financial risks, risks and vulnerabilities within the global banking system, additional empirical analyses on buffer usability and cyclicality in the Basel framework (the Committee plans to publish an evaluation report), and the approved results of the annual assessment exercise for globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs). The global banking system is currently enduring inflation and other growth inhibiting factors, and the Committee met to discuss its effects. The Committee believes that banks have been resilient due the success of its Basel II reforms and emplore banks and supervisors to "remain vigilant". Moreover, as a follow up to its interim evaluation report in 2021, on early lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Committee plans to release a second report before the G20 Leaders' Summit, taking place in November of this year. In addition to this report, the Committee approved the results of its annual assessment exercise for G-SIBs, which will be submitted to the Financial Stability Board before it publishes a list of G-SIBs for 2022. Most notably, the Committee discussed the assessment and development of “a suite of potential measures – spanning disclosure, supervisory and/or regulatory measures – to address climate-related financial risks to the global banking system.”

More information on the Basel Committee’s July 14-15 meeting is available here.