Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, introduced in 2023 sustainability disclosure requirements based on the ISSB standards, that will be mandatory for the banks and financial institutions it regulates. As part of its efforts to help the market prepare for these new regulations, the Central Bank worked with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to deliver training based on SSE’s ISSB training workshop to increase the expertise of the regulator’s staff.
The UN SSE, IFC and IFRS Foundation jointly developed training materials aimed at educating capital market participants on the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards created by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The training program is facilitated by the SSE and IFRS Foundation, hosted by stock exchanges around the world.
“The UN SSE has a long-standing partnership with IFC, having signed an exchange of letters in 2018 to formalize collaboration. Through the SSE Academy, we’ve further enhanced our collaboration and we work jointly to provide markets world-wide with expert-led, high-quality capacity building materials,” said SSE Academy Head Ms. Tiffany Grabski. “Through this training Bangladesh’s central bank, we see the impact that this collaboration can have through the use of these training materials beyond the initial training program.”
To enhance the expertise of Bangladesh’s central bank, the IFC held an in-depth training of trainers workshop for Bangladesh Bank staff on implementing the ISSB Standards, leveraging the training workshop developed by UN SSE. The core content of the SSE’s training was supplemented by additional relevant content, such as accounting for financed emissions and specific considerations for the Bangladesh context.
The training workshop complements new guidelines that require banks and finance companies in Bangladesh to report climate- and broader sustainability-related financial information. The guidelines require disclosure using a dedicated reporting template, as well as in their annual reports using the ISSB Standards, for reporting periods starting in 2024. The guideline allows for a gradual implementation of the requirements, leading to full disclosure in 2027.
Stock exchanges and regulatory authorities that wish to host training for their market on this topic can contact the SSE team directly.
[Photo pictures SSE Senior Specialist Mike Zimonyi presenting at the launch of the Guidelines on Sustainability and Climate-related Financial Disclosures]
