Sustainable finance

Sustainable finance aims at integrating Environmental, Social or Governance (ESG) criteria into financial services, and at supporting sustainable economic growth. It also aims at increasing financial actors' awareness and transparency about the need to mitigate ESG risks via an appropriate management, considering in particular the longer-term nature of such risks and the uncertainty on their valuation and pricing.

In March 2018, the European Commission published its Action plan on Financing Sustainable Growth, setting an EU strategy on sustainable finance and a roadmap for future work across the financial system. On the back of this plan, the EBA prepared its own work plan and identified its key priorities. These include considerations on how ESG can be incorporated into the regulatory and supervisory framework of EU credit institutions. The EBA also has an important role in monitoring  market practices related to sustainability, and engaging with relevant stakeholders and the industry.