Welcome to the monthly capital markets update, a briefing from our capital markets practice area rounding up the month’s regulatory developments within the equity and debt capital markets and looking ahead to future developments.
Malta Update
There were no updates from a Maltese regulatory perspective for the month of August 2024.
European Union Update
UPDATE NUMBER 08/2024/01
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (‘EFRAG’) released a study on the early implementation of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (‘ESRS’). The study focuses on the practices and challenges observed in large European companies as they begin to apply the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (‘CSRD’) and ESRS. It involved 28 large companies, both non-financial and financial institutions, across industries such as healthcare technology, chemicals, transport, and utilities.
The study highlights four key areas in ESRS implementation: (i) Double Materiality Assessments; (ii) Datapoints; (iii) Value Chain Mapping; and (iv) ESG Reporting Approaches.
UPDATE NUMBER 08/2024/02
On 7 August the European Commission published a Draft Commission Notice which includes a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the interpretation of sustainability reporting rules under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (‘CSRD’) and the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (‘SFDR’).
The FAQs aim to clarify key provisions related to the scope, application dates, and exemptions to help companies comply with sustainability regulations more efficiently. They also seek to enhance the usability and comparability of sustainability reports while reducing administrative burdens. The FAQs provide further guidance on the interpretation of the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (‘ESRS’), offering support to market participants as they implement these legal requirements.
