FRANKFURT, 5th June, 2024 (WAM) -- The European Central Bank confirmed that it is preparing to fine a number of lenders after they failed to make adequate progress in addressing risks posed to their business by climate change, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
“We have notified a few banks that, based on our current assessment, they have not met the interim milestones, which means they face the prospect of having to pay a so-called pecuniary penalty,” Kerstin af Jochnick, a member of the ECB’s Supervisory Board, told Cinco Dias, a Spanish business and finance newspaper.
The comments follow a report by Bloomberg last week, which stated that as many as four banks face fines after not meeting deadlines set by the ECB for assessing their exposure to climate risks. Though likely to be largely symbolic in size, the fines represent a historic step and distinguish the ECB from the US Federal Reserve in its approach to addressing climate change.
Jochnick said the process has yet to be concluded, according to a transcript of the interview with Cinco Dias published on the ECB’s website.
“Supervisors will need to assess the documents that banks submit and the total number of days that they might have failed to comply past the deadlines we gave them,” she said. “This will form the basis for any potential penalty, which would need to be decided upon by the Supervisory Board.”