The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published revised guidelines on product oversight and governance for retail banking products, addressing greenwashing risks and ESG considerations, effective from January 11, 2027.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published revised Guidelines on product oversight and governance (POG) for retail banking products. These guidelines clarify requirements for products with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) features when offered and sold to consumers, addressing greenwashing risks.
The aim is to ensure financial institutions apply robust standards in designing and distributing ESG-related retail products, reducing the risk of consumers being misled or sold unsuitable products.
Amendments make ESG and greenwashing considerations more explicit throughout the product lifecycle, especially in marketing, internal controls, target market identification, distribution channels, and information provided to distributors.
The Guidelines include non-substantive updates reflecting changes from 2020 to the EBA Founding Regulation, the Guidelines on internal governance under the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), and the management of third-party risk (SMTPR). These updates remove outdated provisions and align with current regulations to streamline supervision.
The Guidelines will be published in 24 languages in 2026 and will apply from January 11, 2027.
Background: The EBA issued its initial POG Guidelines in 2016 to address conduct risks and enhance consumer protection in retail banking. The revised guidelines respond to the increasing prominence of ESG products and the need to explicitly address greenwashing while maintaining high standards of conduct.
The Guidelines are issued under Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, which authorizes the EBA to ensure consistent application of EU law.
