The Joint Bank Reporting Committee (JBRC) has harmonized ESG definitions to streamline statistical, supervisory, and resolution reporting.
JBRC is a collaborative body established by the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
The new roadmap prioritizes the development of an integrated European reporting system, specifically targeting the reduction of data redundancies for financial institutions. By establishing a single rulebook for data, the JBRC aims to lower the administrative burden on banks while providing regulators with higher-quality, consistent information.
The push for semantic integration and NACE 2.1:
The 2026 agenda emphasizes semantic integration—the process of ensuring that a single data point has the same definition and technical standard across all types of reporting. A critical component of this is the mandatory transition to the NACE Rev. 2.1 statistical classification system, which became effective for all European banks on January 1, 2026.
The updated taxonomy allows for a more granular breakdown of economic activities, particularly in identifying green versus nonrenewable energy production. By aligning NACE 2.1 across supervisory (FINREP) and statistical (AnaCredit) frameworks, the JBRC ensures that sectoral exposures are comparable without complex manual recalculations.
ESG recommendations and the DPM alliance:
Alongside the work program, the JBRC issued a set of ESG recommendations to enhance the semantic integration of ESG Pillar 3 disclosures. The recommendations are integrated into the DPM Standard 2.0—a common data dictionary governed by the DPM Alliance (EBA, ECB, and EIOPA).
Integrated Data Model: The DPM 2.0 serves as a shared language for all regulatory requirements, ensuring that climate risk models and energy performance scores (EPC labels) are defined identically across the Eurozone.
Future-Proofing: The recommendations provide a foundation for future implementation of technical standards (ITS), allowing updates to the EU Taxonomy to be automatically reflected in bank templates.
Implementation and oversight:
Responsibility for the rollout now shifts to the EBA and ECB, which will follow up on the JBRC’s recommendations throughout 2026. This coordination is essential as the EU prepares for the 2027 stress tests, which will integrate climate risk data more deeply.
For institutions, this means a shift toward more automated, data-driven compliance, where high-quality ESG data becomes a core factor in credit risk assessment and financing terms.
Thought leadership:
“Our 2026 Work Program is a decisive step toward a truly integrated reporting ecosystem. By focusing on semantic integration and the harmonized implementation of NACE 2.1, we are making the reporting process more efficient for banks while ensuring that supervisors have the precise data they need to monitor emerging risks,” said Meri Rimmanen, Chairperson, JBRC (EBA).
“The ESG recommendations provide a relevant contribution to the development of new ESG-related definitions. Consistency is our primary goal; these standards will ensure that European banks report ESG data that is not only robust but also fully aligned across all regulatory and statistical frameworks,” said Claudia Mann, Chairperson, JBRC (ECB).
