Implementing the EU Taxonomy in the Banking Sector: An Empirical Analysis of the Green Asset Ratio

The European Taxonomy (Regulation EU 2020/852) is one of the regulatory cornerstones of European legislation on sustainable finance. The aim of this paper is to analyse the regulatory evolution that led to the drafting of the text and to delve deeper into the methodological principles and technical criteria of the legislation. In particular, the research focuses on an empirical investigation of the Green Asset Ratio, one of the key KPIs that credit institutions are required to publish. To conduct this analysis were collected data from FY 2023 and FY 2024 of the 30 European banks in the Euro Stoxx 600 index. The collected data were compared across all banks in the sample and complemented by a qualitative analysis of their sustainability reports as well as insights drawn from sector experts. This combined approach reconstructs the declared paths of alignment with Taxonomy, identify recurrences in disclosure practices, and contextualize empirical evidence within the broader European regulatory landscape. The analysis thus offers a structured interpretation of the ways in which major European banks are incorporating Taxonomy requirements into their strategies and information processes.