1. What is CSRD for Banks?

CSRD - Directive (EU) 2022/2464 entered into force 5 Jan 2023, replaces NFRD (Directive 2014/95/EU, transposed in Spain as Law 11/2018).

It requires banks to report environmental data alongside financial report according to ESRS - European Sustainability Reporting Standards developed by EFRAG.

For banks, environmental data means:

• ESRS E1 Climate Change: Scope 1,2,3 GHG emissions, including financed emissions (Category 15) - the loan book / investment portfolio emissions. This is the biggest burden for Spanish banks like Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank.
• ESRS E2 Pollution, E3 Water, E4 Biodiversity, E5 Resource Use
• Double Materiality: Bank must report not only how climate affects bank (C&E risk) but how bank affects climate.
• Taxonomy Alignment: % of assets aligned with EU Taxonomy Regulation
• Transition Plan: How bank will align with 1.5°C Paris Agreement

2. Spanish Transposition - Current Status (as of Oct 2026)

Original deadline: 6 July 2024 to transpose. Spain failed. On 26 Sept 2024 Commission sent formal notice to 17 Member States including Spain for failing to notify transposition.

Spanish Transposition Law: On 15 Nov 2024, Spanish Parliament presented Transposition Law on Corporate Information on Sustainability - Ley de Información Empresarial sobre Sostenibilidad. As of Sept 2026, EUR-Lex register still shows no final national measures communicated by Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal - but draft law is in parliamentary process.

Scope under Spanish draft:

• Large companies, listed SMEs and subsidiaries of foreign companies with significant operations in EU are required to report
• 2024 financial year: Public Interest Entities >500 employees (all major Spanish banks)
• 2025: All large companies >250 employees, €50M turnover
• 2026: Listed SMEs

Reports must include: business model, sustainability objectives, risks, environmental and social impacts and value chain - integrated into management report, with external assurance.

3. Banking Specific Compliance in Spain

Spanish banks are under triple supervision:

1. CNMV + ICAC for CSRD reporting - CNMV and ICAC updated their recommendations on sustainability reports in interim before transposition
2. Bank of Spain + ECB SSM for Climate & Environmental (C&E) risk reporting under ECB Guide on C&E risks 2020 - must conduct C&E materiality assessment
3. AMCESFI for systemic environmental risk

Failure to report environmental data = 2 penalties:

a) Under CSRD transposition
b) Under ECB supervisory powers

4. Penalties & Case Laws

A. SPAIN CSRD PENALTY FRAMEWORK (Draft Law Nov 2024)

Spanish law proposes classification:

• Serious: For incomplete or late reporting - fines proportional
• Very Serious: For manipulating data or intentionally including false information, fines up to 4% of turnover, or 10 million euros
• Individual liability: Consequences include individual fines and disqualification from holding management positions for up to 5 years in most serious cases.

On 9 Dec 2025, EU Council reached provisional agreement on Omnibus simplification: penalty cap of 3% of company's net worldwide turnover for CSRD/CSDDD.

B. LANDMARK ENFORCEMENT CASE - SPANISH BANK FINED BY ECB

ECB Fine on ABANCA - 10 Nov 2025 - €187,650 periodic penalty payments
Source: ECB supervisory enforcement
Facts: ABANCA, a Spanish significant institution, fined for incomplete C&E materiality check. Bank failed to properly assess climate and environmental risks in its risk materiality assessment.
Principle: If a Spanish significant institution can be fined for incomplete C&E materiality check in Nov 2025, any bank financing real-estate, vehicle fleets, or industrial machines without knowing NACE distribution is at risk.
This is first direct case law linking environmental data reporting failure to prudential penalty for Spanish bank.

C. OTHER RELEVANT CASE LAWS

1. EU Greenwashing Enforcement - Applies to Spanish Banks
Spanish banks marketing "green mortgages" or "sustainable funds" without ESRS-aligned data face CNMV greenwashing action. Under Law 11/2018 and upcoming CSRD, CNMV can sanction for misleading non-financial information.

2. Omnibus I Directive - 18 March 2026 Entry into Force
Omnibus I Directive entered into force introducing amendments to CSRD aimed at simplifying requirements. It cut population of directly reporting companies by ∼80% - only firms above 1,000 employees and €50M turnover remain in first wave. However, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 published 21 Sept 2026 simplifies ESRS - reduces reporting burden but does NOT remove banking obligations for financed emissions.
EU Member States must transpose Omnibus provisions by 19 March 2027.

3. CSDDD Interplay - Spain's Role
Spain during EU Council presidency proposed to exclude banks from initial CSDDD scope. Final CSDDD adopted 2024 excludes financial institutions' downstream activities temporarily, but due diligence on upstream still required. Means Spanish banks must still report environmental data on own operations and suppliers, not yet on loan portfolio clients' human rights - but CSRD still requires financed emissions.

5. What Spanish Banks Must Do Now (Oct 2026)

Even though final Spanish transposition law still in parliament, obligation exists because CSRD is EU directive with direct effect and ECB is already enforcing:

1. Prepare ESRS Report: Use first set of ESRS published 22 Dec 2023 in OJEU - ESRS 1, ESRS 2 + E1-E5, S1-S4, G1.
2. Assurance: Get limited assurance from auditor (ICAC registered) - Spanish draft requires external assurance.
3. Financed Emissions: Calculate Scope 3 Category 15 using PCAF standard - mandatory for banks.
4. Submit to CNMV + Bank of Spain: Management report with sustainability information in ESEF format.

Non-compliance risk: CNMV can reject annual accounts, ECB can impose periodic penalty payments (as in ABANCA case), and directors disqualified.