meta_id 3078801

On March 30, 2026, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) issued Measure 2/2026, amending its previous Measure 4/2015 on additional types of risks and risk management system details for banks and foreign bank branches. The amendment, which takes effect on May 1, 2026, introduces significant changes to risk governance frameworks applicable to all banks operating in Slovakia. The amendment establishes new requirements for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk management. Banks must now develop comprehensive strategies addressing ESG risks that account for short-term, medium-term, and long-term horizons spanning at least ten years. These strategies must include identification and measurement methodologies, regular stress testing procedures, and clear allocation of responsibilities. Banks are required to integrate ESG risk identification across all business activities and establish procedures for classifying and assessing the severity of these risks, including their impact on other risk categories to which the institution is exposed. The measure introduces specific operational risk management requirements for banks' direct and indirect exposures to crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers. Banks must conduct prior assessments of any planned crypto-asset exposures, evaluating the adequacy of existing risk management processes for counterparty and market risks. For crypto-assets without identifiable issuers, concentration risk must be assessed based on exposures to crypto-assets with similar characteristics. Banks must document these assessments in reports available to the NBS upon request. The amendment incorporates the EU Directive 2024/1619, which modified the Capital Requirements Directive (2013/36/EU) regarding supervisory powers, sanctions, third-country branches, and ESG risk management requirements.