EBA and ECB to implement fresh standards for environmental data reporting

The Joint Bank Reporting Committee recently published its Work Programme for 2026, outlining the primary priorities and deliverables designed to harmonise the European banking sector.

In parallel with this release, the committee issued a comprehensive set of recommendations for all authorities to consider during the development of ESG reporting requirements.

The European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank will follow up on the implementation of these specific recommendations to ensure cross-border compliance.

The 2026 Work Programme establishes the main objectives for the committee as it continues to support progress towards an integrated European reporting system for banks.

Throughout the coming year, the committee will maintain a dedicated focus on semantic integration and on the development of common standards across different reporting spheres.

These efforts involve creating shared definitions for statistical, supervisory and resolution reporting, which currently often operate under differing frameworks.

Such initiatives contribute to the broader European Union strategy to streamline reporting obligations, which aims to reduce the administrative burden on financial institutions.

Strengthening data consistency and enhancing efficiency for both reporting institutions and the competent authorities remain central goals for the upcoming year.

The full details of the 2026 Work Programme have been made available on the dedicated webpages hosted by both the banking authority and the central bank.

Regarding the ESG-focused recommendations, the committee seeks to support greater alignment across various reporting frameworks.

These recommendations represent an important milestone in ensuring that consistent and aligned approaches to environmental, social, and governance data are applied across Europe.

They also provide a relevant contribution to the finalisation of the Implementing Technical Standards on ESG disclosures, which are currently being refined by regulators.

Furthermore, the suggestions will assist in the preparation of future requirements and the development of any new ESG-related definitions within the banking union.

The committee plays a central role in the European initiative to simplify the way banks provide data to regulators.

By developing common definitions, semantics and standards, the committee ensures that regulatory data reported by banks is accurate and comparable.

This collaborative approach between the central bank and the banking authority is intended to prevent the duplication of data requests.

The committee was established to act as a bridge between the various regulatory bodies that require data from the European banking sector.

All recommendations issued by the committee are designed to be integrated into the existing regulatory data architecture to avoid systemic fragmentation.

The 2026 programme reinforces the commitment of European regulators to a “report once” philosophy for the financial industry.