A coalition of financial sector associations including the Swiss Finance Council, the Investment Association, the Japanese Bankers Association and the International Regulatory Strategy Group have co-signed a letter asking for a “more workable and proportionate approach” to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). In the letter, the associations say that they “strongly believe that the due diligence requirements should apply only to the value chain operations related to products sold in the EU and services provided in the EU” in order to “ensure more proportionate obligations for non-EU financial institutions”. To the extent that financial institutions’ downstream value chain is included, they say, it should be limited to the activities of large corporate clients directly receiving specific purpose loans or credits in the EU. “It is crucial to ensure a harmonised approach to this within the Single Market,” they say in the letter. The associations also call for global coordination on transition plans.
