There is no December 2026 FINZ deadline. SBTi extended the window, then in October 2026 kept both its bank frameworks open with no end date. What FINZ asks of a bank.
Updated 11 October 2026: rewritten throughout. The December 2026 deadline in the first version of this article no longer applies. SBTi extended the window to July 2027 in February 2026, then removed the end date on 8 October 2026.
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 the standard a bank works to when it wants validated net-zero targets.
FINZ arrived with a date attached. SBTi said financial institutions could choose between FINZ and its older Financial Institutions Near-Term Criteria until at least December 2026, and that date travelled widely as a submission deadline. It no longer applies, and nothing has replaced it.
The date has moved twice
- July 2025. FINZ version 1.0 published. Both financial sector frameworks available until at least December 2026.
- February 2026. SBTi extended that minimum period to the end of July 2027.
- 8 October 2026. SBTi announced that FINZ and the Financial Institutions Near-Term Criteria will both remain available to financial institutions, with no specific end date for either.
SBTi gave two reasons for the October decision: feedback from institutions, and consistency with its Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0, which also lets companies set near-term targets without a net-zero target. It also said targets set under either framework stay valid for their whole target cycle.
The full sequence, and what SBTi did and did not say, is in SBTi FINZ: the July 2027 window is gone.
No deadline is not the same as more time
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.
Building a financed emissions baseline to the PCAF methodology takes most banks three to nine months, depending on data availability, the asset classes in scope and how much 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.
Two dates still bind a bank without a framework deadline:
- Its own SBTi commitment. A public commitment to set targets carries a submission date under SBTi’s Commitment Compliance Policy. Check yours on SBTi’s target dashboard.
- The end of its current target cycle, if it already holds validated near-term targets.
Near-Term Criteria or FINZ
With both routes open indefinitely, the choice between them turns on substance rather than timing.
| Financial Institutions Near-Term Criteria | FINZ | |
|---|---|---|
| Version | 2.0, May 2024 | 1.0, July 2025 |
| Targets | Near-term only | Near-term targets of up to five years, plus long-term targets reaching net zero by 2050 at the latest |
| Financial activities covered | Lending and investing | Lending, asset owner investing, asset manager investing, insurance underwriting and capital market activities |
| Climate governance disclosure | Not required | Required |
| Fossil fuel policy | Only where the fossil fuel finance targets method is used | Fossil fuel transition policy required |
Source: SBTi, Near-term and net-zero: understanding the SBTi’s frameworks for financial institutions, 28 October 2025, updated October 2026.
One point catches banks out. Near-term targets validated under the Near-Term Criteria do not carry across automatically. An institution that later wants a validated net-zero target has to set it under FINZ.
The two things to settle before committing to FINZ
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 criterion C9 requires a published fossil fuel transition policy before initial validation. The policy must commit to:
- stop new financing for coal expansion immediately, whether as project finance or as general-purpose finance to coal companies;
- stop new project finance for oil and gas expansion immediately; and
- stop new general-purpose finance to companies expanding oil and gas, immediately or by 2030 at the latest.
For a bank in a hydrocarbon economy, that has direct consequences for existing client relationships and pipeline. It is not a disclosure formality. We cover it in what FINZ asks of banks on fossil fuel finance.
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. We work through it in financed emissions or customer alignment.
What this means in practice
- Start the financed emissions baseline now. It is the schedule under either framework.
- Choose the framework on substance. If a validated net-zero target is the goal, FINZ is the only route to it.
- Take the fossil fuel transition policy to the board before committing to FINZ, not after validation begins.
- Make the financed emissions versus customer alignment choice explicitly and record the reasoning.
- Check your commitment date and SBTi’s current position before submitting. The timetable has moved twice since FINZ was published.
How ESGweise helps
We build financed emissions baselines to the PCAF methodology and take banks through the framework choice, target setting and transition planning as a single programme rather than separate exercises. See our ESG strategy and sustainability reporting services, and our banking and financial services practice.
To set a realistic SBTi timetable against your own data position, talk to us.
Related guides
- SBTi FINZ: the July 2027 window is gone, both routes stay open
- What FINZ asks of banks on fossil fuel finance
- Financed emissions or customer alignment: the FINZ choice
- Financed emissions and PCAF: a bank’s biggest footprint
- SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0: what changes for companies
- 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, insurers and other financial institutions that want validated net-zero targets, and it runs to 82 pages. Financial institutions can also set near-term-only targets under the Financial Institutions Near-Term Criteria version 2.0, which SBTi confirmed on 8 October 2026 will remain available with no end date.
What is the FINZ deadline?
There is no longer a framework deadline. When FINZ was published in July 2025, SBTi said both of its financial sector frameworks would be available until at least December 2026. In February 2026 it extended that to at least the end of July 2027. On 8 October 2026 it removed the end date: FINZ and the Near-Term Criteria both remain available. The deadline a bank actually faces now comes from its own SBTi commitment, if it has made one, and from the end of its current target cycle.
Does FINZ replace the Financial Institutions Near-Term Criteria?
No. Both remain available with no end date, and SBTi says targets set under either stay valid for their whole target cycle. The difference is what each validates. The Near-Term Criteria cover near-term targets only. A bank that wants a validated net-zero target has to set it under FINZ, and near-term targets do not transfer across automatically.
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 typically takes three to nine months and is the longest single task in a transition planning programme, so it sets the schedule for everything downstream, including target setting.