Credit and Sustainability: From 2026, ESG Risk Enters Banking Assessment

From 2026, the way banks assess businesses will change substantially. Credit risk will no longer be considered solely from an economic-financial perspective, but will also structurally include ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors.

The new Guidelines of the European Banking Authority (EBA) introduce specific obligations for credit institutions: ESG risk must be identified, measured, managed, and monitored within credit granting and management processes.

The rules apply from January 11, 2026, to larger banks, while smaller or less complex institutions have an adjustment period until January 11, 2027.

What Changes for Banks

ESG factors will no longer be treated as a predominantly reputational issue, but will become an integral part of:

• internal risk assessment models;

• governance structures;

• strategic planning.

Institutions will also need to conduct structured analyses on the materiality of ESG risks and prepare transition plans consistent with sustainability objectives. By 2027, guidelines on environmental scenario analysis will also come into effect, requiring climate stress tests and environmental resilience assessments in the medium to long term.

Concrete Impacts for Businesses

For companies seeking credit, this change will have tangible effects. Access to financing will also be influenced by:

• quality and reliability of ESG data;

• ability to manage climate and transition risks;

• credibility of sustainability plans;

• consistency between governance, strategy, and risk profile.

This is not simply a "green" orientation: banks are integrating ESG factors into their rating systems and cost of capital determination policies.

This means that, with equal economic performance, two companies may obtain different financing conditions based on their level of oversight and reporting of ESG risks. ESG no longer represents an accessory element, but a structural component of creditworthiness assessment.

Studio Alcor has already dedicated an in-depth analysis to these topics in the first webinar of the "Business Hub" project, during which partner Dario Lenarduzzi and counsel Alberto Bragato illustrated, with an operational approach, corporate governance tools and processes useful for strengthening the bank-business relationship, with particular attention to creditworthiness assessment criteria and the centrality of timely and reliable data.

For those who were unable to attend, the session can be viewed at the following link: click here.

 

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