Impacts of the Transition from NFRD to CSRD on ESG Reporting of Czech Banks: A Case Study of Raiffeisenbank, a.s

This diploma thesis examines the impacts of the transition from the NFRD to the CSRD on ESG reporting in Czech banks through a case study of Raiffeisenbank a.s. The aim of the thesis is to assess how the new regulatory framework affected the structure, scope and content of the bank’s ESG reports, as well as its internal functioning, organisational processes and approach to ESG management. The theoretical part defines the development of ESG reporting, its relationship to financial and integrated reporting, and the EU legislative framework, with particular emphasis on the differences between the NFRD and the CSRD. The practical part combines a comparison of Raiffeisenbank a.s.’s ESG reports with findings from semi-structured interviews. The results show that the implementation of the CSRD primarily increased the standardisation, transparency, systematic nature and coordination of ESG data collection. The most significant changes were identified in the environmental area and partly in the social area, while the governance area showed a lower degree of change. The thesis concludes that, in the case of the analysed bank, the CSRD does not represent a fundamentally transformative instrument, but rather a regulatory framework that formalises already existing processes. Its impact on strategic decision-making and capital allocation remains limited.