Belgium Implements CRD VI — Sustainability Risks Enter Bank Governance Frameworks

Belgium published the law implementing Capital Requirements Directive VI (CRD VI) in its Official Gazette on August 7, 2026, with sustainability-related requirements entering into force August 17. Under the implementing law, banks must integrate sustainability risks — including climate, environmental, and social risks — into governance arrangements, risk management frameworks, and strategic decision-making across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons. CRD VI implementation is proceeding across EU member states as part of the broader prudential sustainability integration agenda, and the Belgian law sets a marker for how supervisory expectations are hardening. For law firms advising financial institutions, the governance integration requirement is not a disclosure exercise — it mandates structural changes to how boards identify, escalate, and respond to ESG risk, which has direct implications for D&O exposure, internal audit, and regulatory examination readiness.