Headlines
Wall Street regulator says it has concerns over European ESG rules
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 10, 2025
Editorial & Advertiser disclosure
Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Wall Street's top regulator on Wednesday criticized two recent European laws on companies' disclosures of their environmental, social and governance impacts, underscoring the shift in U.S. financial regulation since President Donald Trump took office.
In an address to an event held in Paris by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paul Atkins, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said the laws could impose costs on investors and called on European authorities to focus on promoting free enterprise instead.
"I have significant concerns with the prescriptive nature of these laws and their burdens on U.S. companies, the costs of which are potentially passed on to American investors and customers," Atkins said, according to prepared remarks.
Though Atkins noted recent changes to ease the laws' burdens, he said more work was necessary, adding that Europe should focus on cutting firms' reporting obligations "rather than pursuing ends that are unrelated to the economic success of companies" or their shareholders.
The European Union last year adopted a law, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, requiring larger companies to verify whether their supply chains use forced labor or cause environmental damage, and to address this if they do.
However, this was watered down to win the support of some EU members.
Separately, the European Commission in February proposed looser environmental and corporate sustainability standards under the EU's corporate sustainability reporting directive, which requires companies to disclose information about their environmental and social impacts to investors and consumers.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington; Editing by Sam Holmes)