GRC Report Staff

The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) has recently unveiled its sustainability disclosure standards. This marks a milestone not just for Japan, but for the global conversation around transparency in corporate sustainability. The SSBJ, which was established in July 2022 with a mission to develop standards that would align with the global push for clearer, more comparable sustainability disclosures, has now taken a major step forward.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has launched its Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF) action for 2025. This year, the focus shifts to the right to erasure—also known as the “right to be forgotten”—a powerful tool under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that allows individuals to request the deletion of personal data.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has recently published a thought-provoking discussion paper, urging the financial industry to explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) while being mindful of its risks. Titled “Preliminary Discussion Points for Promoting the Sound Utilization of AI in the Financial Sector,” the paper highlights how generative AI is revolutionizing industries across the board, including finance, and the FSA’s role in ensuring these advancements are responsibly harnessed.

In a move that underscores South Korea's commitment to data protection, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has cracked down on two companies for major security oversights that put users’ personal data at risk. This recent decision, made at the PIPC’s fourth plenary meeting of the year, should serve as a wake-up call to businesses that think data security is an afterthought.

In Singapore, the commodity financing (CF) sector plays a pivotal role in connecting global trade to the world’s financial systems. As one of the world’s key trading hubs, Singapore’s banks are responsible for financing the flow of commodities that power economies from oil and gas to metals and beyond. However, as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) pointed out in its recent 2024 inspection report, the sheer scale and complexity of commodity trade financing means that banks are facing heightened risks that need more than just a cursory glance.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has slapped Deutsche Bank with an administrative fine totaling €23.05 million for a series of compliance failures in connection with its operations. The German financial regulator found that the bank violated several provisions under the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) and the German Payment Accounts Act (ZKG).

In a world that’s changing faster than a New York minute, banking chief risk officers (CROs) are feeling the pressure. According to the latest survey by EY and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), cybersecurity remains the number one concern for CROs globally. In fact, a staggering 75% of them flagged it as their top priority for the next year. But that’s not the whole story—geopolitical risks are also rising fast on the horizon, with geopolitical tensions leaping from 12th to 3rd in the list of risks to worry about.