# SBTi FINZ: The December 2026 Deadline Facing Banks > The Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, published July 2025, carries a December 2026 submission deadline. What FINZ asks of a bank, and what to settle first. **Source:** https://www.esgweise.com/insights/sbti-finz-december-2026-deadline-banks/ **Author:** Sumit Agarwal **Published:** 2026-08-29 **Updated:** 2026-09-13 **Frameworks:** SBTi, FINZ, PCAF **Countries:** UAE, KSA, Qatar, Jordan, Global --- ## Key points - The Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard (FINZ) v1.0 was published in July 2025 and runs to 82 pages. - Financial institutions can choose between SBTi's Near-Term Criteria and FINZ until at least the end of July 2027. SBTi extended this from December 2026 in February 2026. - FINZ is the net-zero standard for financial institutions. The Near-Term Criteria remain a live alternative until at least the end of July 2027. - The standard carries fossil fuel commitments that are substantive for emerging-market banks, not administrative. - It offers a choice between a financed emissions focus and a customer net-zero alignment focus. That is a strategic decision, not a technical one. --- This article was written on 29 August 2026. **The December 2026 date in the article text is out of date**; the key points and FAQs have been corrected. In February 2026 SBTi extended the period in which financial institutions can choose between its Near-Term Criteria and FINZ to at least the end of July 2027. The current timetable is in [SBTi FINZ: the transition window now runs to July 2027](/insights/sbti-finz-transition-window-july-2027/). What the article says about FINZ's content, the financed emissions baseline and the fossil fuel commitments still stands. The Science Based Targets initiative published its **Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard (FINZ) version 1.0 in July 2025**. It runs to 82 pages and it is now the standard a bank works to when it wants validated net-zero targets. For institutions validating under it, the **submission deadline is December 2026**. That deadline is closer than it looks, for a reason that has nothing to do with paperwork. ## Why the deadline is not really about the deadline FINZ target setting rests on a financed emissions baseline. You cannot set a credible target against a portfolio you have not measured, and the measurement is the slow part. In practice, building a financed emissions baseline to the PCAF methodology takes most banks somewhere between three and nine months, depending on data availability, the asset classes in scope and how much of the counterparty information already sits in usable form. It is normally the longest single task in a transition planning programme, and everything downstream waits on it. So a December 2026 submission is not a December 2026 project. A bank that has not started measuring is already working to a compressed timetable. ## What changed from the near-term generation Before FINZ, the financial sector route ran through the **Financial Institutions' Near-Term Criteria version 2.0, May 2024**, supported by a 115-page explanatory document. Those documents still exist and are worth reading for contrast, because they show how the approach has moved. But they are the previous generation. A bank beginning now should be working from FINZ. ## The two things to settle before committing Most published commentary treats FINZ as a technical exercise. Two features of the standard are not technical at all, and both should be settled at board level before an institution commits to validation. ### The fossil fuel commitments are real FINZ requires a **fossil fuel transparency policy**, an **immediate end to project financing for new fossil fuel projects**, and an **end to financing oil and gas companies engaged in expansion by 2030**. For a bank in a hydrocarbon economy, that is a serious commitment with direct consequences for existing client relationships and pipeline. It is not a disclosure formality. We cover this separately in [what FINZ asks of banks on fossil fuel finance](/insights/sbti-finz-fossil-fuel-policy-gcc-banks/), because it deserves a proper reading before anyone signs anything. ### The scope choice is strategic FINZ offers a choice between focusing on **financed emissions** and focusing on **customer net-zero alignment**. These lead to different target architectures, different data requirements and different conversations with clients. Choosing between them is a strategic decision about how the bank wants to influence its portfolio, and it is worth making deliberately rather than defaulting. We work through the trade-off in [financed emissions or customer alignment](/insights/sbti-finz-financed-emissions-vs-customer-alignment/). ## What is not yet settled Two honest caveats. Separate FINZ criteria and explanatory documents do not appear to exist as standalone publications. Both returned errors on the SBTi content network when we last checked on 28 August 2026, which suggests the 82-page standard is self-contained. If an engagement turns on a specific criterion, confirm that against the SBTi website rather than relying on the standard alone. SBTi versions also move quickly, and the documents do not always state clearly which supersedes which. Check the current version before quoting any criterion. ## What this means in practice If your institution intends to validate under FINZ: - Start the financed emissions baseline now, not after the target architecture is agreed. It is the schedule. - Take the fossil fuel commitments to the board before committing, not after validation begins. - Make the financed emissions versus customer alignment choice explicitly and record the reasoning. - Confirm the current version of every criterion you rely on. ## How ESGweise helps We build financed emissions baselines to the PCAF methodology and take banks through target setting and transition planning as a single programme rather than separate exercises. See our [ESG strategy](/services/strategy/) and [sustainability reporting](/services/reporting/) services, and our [banking and financial services](/industries/banking-financial-services/) practice. To discuss a FINZ timetable against your own data position, [talk to us](/about/contact/). ## Related guides - [What FINZ asks of banks on fossil fuel finance](/insights/sbti-finz-fossil-fuel-policy-gcc-banks/) - [Financed emissions or customer alignment: the FINZ choice](/insights/sbti-finz-financed-emissions-vs-customer-alignment/) - [Financed emissions and PCAF: a bank's biggest footprint](/insights/financed-emissions-pcaf-gcc-banks/) - [Climate transition planning for GCC banks](/insights/climate-transition-planning-gcc-banks/) - [How a bank builds a transition plan](/insights/how-a-bank-builds-a-transition-plan/) --- ## Frequently asked questions ### What is SBTi FINZ? FINZ is the Science Based Targets initiative's Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, version 1.0, published in July 2025. It is the standard for banks, asset managers and other financial institutions setting validated net-zero targets, and it runs to 82 pages. Until at least the end of July 2027, institutions can still choose to set targets under the Financial Institutions Near-Term Criteria instead. ### What is the FINZ deadline? Financial institutions can choose between the Near-Term Criteria and FINZ until at least the end of July 2027. That period was originally until December 2026; SBTi extended it in February 2026. Institutions with near-term-only commitments that took the finance commitment extension before FINZ was published must submit targets by 31 July 2027. Because target setting depends on a financed emissions baseline, which is usually the longest task in the programme, the practical starting point is well before that. ### Does FINZ replace the near-term financial sector criteria? Not yet. FINZ is the net-zero standard for financial institutions, but the Financial Institutions' Near-Term Criteria version 2.0, May 2024, remain available as an alternative route until at least the end of July 2027. SBTi has not fixed a date on which FINZ becomes the only route for new targets. A bank starting now should read both and choose deliberately while the choice is open. ### What data does a bank need before it can set FINZ targets? A financed emissions baseline, normally built to the PCAF methodology, covering the asset classes in scope. Most banks do not have one when they start. Building it is typically the longest single task in a transition planning programme and it determines the schedule for everything downstream, including target setting. --- Published by ESGweise Global LLC, Dubai. https://www.esgweise.com