derville rowland : remarks - asset management sustainable finance seminar remarks by ms derville rowland, deputy governor of the central bank of ireland, at the central bank of ireland's asset management sustainable finance seminar, dublin, 14 november 2022. * * * good morning everyone - it is a pleasure to welcome you to the central bank's seminar on the sustainable finance disclosures regulation ( sfdr ) for the asset management sector. as you may know, the central bank recently hosted our first financial system conference and it won't surprise you that sustainable finance issues were high on the agenda. over those few days, the general theme of the conversations i had with market participants was that the level and pace of change in the asset management sector is unrelenting – particularly when looked at through a regulatory lens. that is certainly the case in the area of sustainable finance. therefore, this morning in my brief remarks i hope to cover how we as regulators are responding to these changes and our high expectations for industry in this regard, while also covering the european landscape, and what the central bank is doing. in accordance with our overarching mandate, the central bank works to ensure the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy. given the need to ensure a more sustainable economy, it is clear that the financial sector must play a role in achieving this. therefore, we are placing a significant emphasis on supporting this through the implementation of related legislative initiatives to support the delivery of the sustainable finance agenda. in tandem with our fellow regulators, we have a number of interacting priorities in this regard. firstly, we are concerned with the risks to regulated firms'sound functioning, and more broadly, to financial stability, arising from increasingly commonly occurring climate events or from the transition to a sustainable economy. secondly, we want to ensure that investors are fully informed and in no way misled. where investments or financial products are described as green or sustainable, this must be meaningful and accurate and based on reliable parameters that are consistently applied both within jurisdictions and across europe. investors have high expectations for the asset management / funds sector with regard to sustainable finance. it is critical that the sector is positioned to support a timely and effective transition to a more sustainable economy, and for this to happen, standards must be high. european landscape over the past few years, the eu sustainable finance agenda has continued apace. under the green deal legislation, the financial sector and financial regulators have been tasked with a key role in delivering the

of sfdr and the taxonomy regulation to ensure disclosures are clear and transparent. as the legislation and requirements around sustainability and esg continue to evolve and increase, regulators and industry must work together to ensure compliance but i must stress the onus is on you here in this room to make these changes happen. engagement between the central bank and industry has been positive and constructive to date and i trust that will continue. we are very aware that there are complex issues to be considered and areas where industry has sought further clarifications, and while we appreciate that this has been a significant burden, again we must focus on the desired outcome to ensure integrity and investor confidence in the market. we know that many of you are dedicating significant resources to the esg regulatory agenda and are keen to get this right, from a risk management and soundness perspective, to ensure that investors are fully informed and fairly treated. we are aware that some market participants are well progressed in their preparations for the various new sustainability requirements and complying with existing requirements, whilst others are not as well advanced. the central bank expects all industry participants to move forward to ensure compliance - the time to act, if not already done, is now. whilst implementing the new requirements will require a significant shift for market 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches participants, if properly implemented the new rules will discourage greenwashing and protect investors in this dynamic and fast evolving market, and contribute towards directing capital towards more sustainable investments for the benefit of all. there of course remain challenges. during the course of today's event we will hear about some of those, including data availability issues and differing approaches to implementation. but again, it is essential to keep the end objectives in mind. final remarks in conclusion, i hope that my remarks this morning have been helpful in terms of understanding how we at the central bank are approaching the implementation of the esg regulatory framework for the asset management sector. i hope this seminar is helpful in furthering all of our understanding of the challenges and opportunities from this ambitious regulatory agenda. both today and into the future we hope to continue to engage openly with you, sharing relevant information, making clear our regulatory expectations in this area, and listening to your feedback. thank you. 5 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches