Global Regulator & Central Bank News Roundup
Edition 82026Week of February 23
Global developments
The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation has published a Jurisdictional Readiness Assessment Guide and tool to help regulators assess market preparedness to adopt or otherwise use International Sustainability Standards Board standards for sustainability-related financial disclosures. The materials provide a structured, evidence-based framework across ecosystem, preparer and support system readiness to inform decisions on scope, sequencing and capacity building, drawing on experience from nearly 40 jurisdictions, including 19 with requirements in effect.
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation has published a Jurisdictional Readiness Assessment Guide and an accompanying tool to help regulators and other authorities assess how prepared their markets are to adopt or otherwise use International Sustainability Standards Board standards for sustainability-related financial disclosures. The materials set out a structured, evidence-based approach to evaluating readiness across the reporting ecosystem, reporting entities and the wider support system, with the aim of informing decisions on the pace, scope and sequencing of regulatory actions and pinpointing capacity-building priorities. The guide draws on practical examples from nearly 40 jurisdictions that have already taken steps to adopt or otherwise use the standards, including insights from 19 jurisdictions where requirements are already in effect. It frames readiness around three domains - ecosystem readiness, preparer readiness and support system readiness - mapped to key assessment areas such as regulatory architecture and supervisory capacity, availability of reporting and assurance services, information and data infrastructure (including digital reporting), entities’ maturity and skills, and access to external support. The readiness assessment tool is designed to feed findings into roadmap decisions on regulatory process, which entities are covered, what requirements are applied and when they become effective, and it outlines assessment methods including landscape mapping, desktop analysis, surveys and stakeholder engagement. The release forms part of the IFRS Foundation’s Regulatory Implementation Programme toolkit and coincides with the first meeting of its Jurisdictional Adopters Working Group, intended to facilitate multilateral discussion of cross-border implementation considerations and reduce fragmentation in regulatory reporting.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision launched a draft consolidated, modular version of its guidelines and sound practices on a new website section, removing outdated or duplicative content and reducing overall volume by around 75% to create a streamlined framework. In parallel, it held a virtual meeting on 24–25 February 2026 covering financial stability risks and several Basel framework deliverables, including vulnerabilities linked to repo markets and its ongoing targeted review of prudential standard for banks' cryptoasset exposures.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision launched a draft consolidated, modular version of its guidelines and sound practices on a new section of its website and opened a consultation to gather stakeholder feedback. The consolidated guidance reorganises existing materials—currently issued as PDF documents on the Bank for International Settlements website—into a more accessible, user-friendly format aligned with the modular approach used for the Basel Framework. As part of the consolidation, outdated, duplicative or superseded content has been removed, reducing the volume of guidance by around 75% and aiming for a more streamlined, evergreen set of expectations. Separately, the Committee also held a virtual meeting on 24–25 February 2026 covering financial stability risks and several Basel framework deliverables. On repo markets, the Committee discussed vulnerabilities identified in a recent Financial Stability Board report and linked them to its recently finalised guidelines for counterparty credit risk management, which set expectations for banks’ securities financing transactions and collateral management. It agreed that supervisory and bank implementation of these guidelines should help address some repo market vulnerabilities and committed to monitoring implementation progress. For cryptoassets, members took note of progress on the expedited targeted review of prudential standard for banks' cryptoasset exposures and indicated that a further update will be provided later this year. The Committee further announced that the next International Conference of Banking Supervisors will be hosted by Bank Indonesia and the Indonesian Financial Services Authority in Indonesia on 30 September–1 October 2026. Finally, it also noted that Secretary General Neil Esho’s term will conclude at the end of March 2026.
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures has issued an updated report setting out harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements for cross-border payments to support the G20 roadmap for faster, cheaper, more accessible and more transparent cross-border payments. The guidance, updates and expands harmonised data models and clarifies expectations across a core set of interbank messages for credit transfers, payment returns and investigations, including requirements on message consistency, use of ISO codes, time conventions, end-to-end transaction references and structured data elements.
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures has published an updated report setting out its harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements for cross-border payments, giving payment system operators and participants guidance on implementing ISO 20022 consistently to support the G20 roadmap objectives of faster, cheaper, more accessible and more transparent cross-border payments. The report clarifies that these harmonisation requirements are guidance rather than regulatory requirements and are not mandatory for transmitting cross-border or domestic payments, although non-conformance is expected to reduce processing efficiency and increase the risk of delays or failures. Compared with the October 2023 version, the update reflects standardisation and regulatory developments since 2023, adds clarifications requested by market participants, and provides updated and expanded harmonised data models in a separate technical annex to enable more regular updates in line with the ISO 20022 release schedule. The guidance applies across a core set of interbank ISO 20022 messages for credit transfers, payment returns and payment investigations, and sets 12 general requirements spanning consistent message use, use of ISO externalised codes, a restricted Latin character set, a common time convention using UTC or local time with a UTC offset, and transparency via a unique end-to-end transaction reference, complete amount and charges information, and consistent transport of key data. Data structuring expectations include use of account identifiers where available, identification of financial institutions using the business identifier code with the legal entity identifier encouraged as a complement, structured identification of parties including minimum structured postal address elements of Country and Town Name, and minimum remittance information capacity of either up to 140 characters unstructured or up to 9,000 characters structured. The CPMI recommends that operators and participants continue aligning ISO 20022 usage guidelines with the harmonisation requirements before end-2027, following the end of the Swift MT and ISO 20022 coexistence period on 22 November 2025. Maintenance and governance will run at least through end-2027 via a CPMI-established Harmonisation Panel of global ISO 20022 market practice groups, alongside ongoing engagement by the Payments Interoperability and Extension industry task force and incorporation into international and local usage guidelines such as CBPR+, HVPS+ and IP+.
The World Savings and Retail Banking Institute and European mortgage and real estate associations warned that tighter financial conditions and European Union prudential reforms under the Capital Requirements Regulation III are constraining mortgage credit and banks’ lending capacity, particularly for vulnerable and first-time buyers. They argue that the Basel output floor raises capital requirements for low-risk residential real estate exposures, citing estimates of an 18% increase in mortgage portfolio capital needs and Pillar 3 data indicating an average EUR 36 billion rise in risk-weighted assets per bank.
The World Savings and Retail Banking Institute published a joint statement with European mortgage and real estate associations warning that tighter financial conditions and evolving European Union prudential rules are constraining mortgage credit and banks’ lending capacity in Europe, with particular impacts on vulnerable and first-time buyers. The statement frames this as a constraint on financing needed for housing supply, renovation and affordability, alongside structural drivers such as supply-demand imbalances, construction slowdown, rising land and building costs, demographic pressures and regional disparities. The statement focuses on the Basel implementation in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR3), arguing that the output floor increases prudential costs for low-risk residential real estate exposures and reduces available capital for lending. It cites a 2022 Copenhagen Economics study estimating an 18% increase in capital requirements for mortgage portfolios without transitional measures and an output floor impact of EUR 30 billion per lender, and refers to second quarter 2025 Pillar 3 data from a sample of 10 banks showing an average impact of EUR 36 billion in risk-weighted assets, equivalent to EUR 2.88 billion of capital and about EUR 20 billion of lending capacity per bank. The statement calls on the European Commission to preserve and make permanent the CRR Article 465(5) transitional treatment for low-risk residential real estate exposures beyond the stated end dates of 2029 and 2032, remove national discretion, and extend it to banks using the standardised approach subject to the low-risk criteria in Article 465(8), including the “hard test” that loss rates must not exceed 0.25% on average over the past eight years. It identifies the European Commission’s planned competitiveness work, including a report on banking competitiveness, as the vehicle to assess the concrete lending impact of current capital requirements and risk-weighted asset frameworks and to consider a more proportionate, risk-based approach for residential real estate lending in support of the European Affordable Housing Plan.
The World Federation of Exchanges reported a broad rebound in 2025 public markets, with global equity market capitalisation rising 18.5% year-on-year to USD 151.94 trillion and trading value increasing 36.8%, while 1,471 IPOs raised USD 190.5 billion, up 42.7%, led by the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Average IPO size increased 31.2% to USD 129.5 million, with 32 listings exceeding USD 1 billion.
The World Federation of Exchanges has published its full-year 2025 data showing a broad rebound in public markets, with global equity market capitalisation rising 18.5% year-on-year to USD 151.94 trillion and trading value increasing 36.8%, while IPO activity strengthened despite geopolitical turbulence. A total of 1,471 IPOs were completed, up 8.7% from 2024, and capital raised through IPOs rose 42.7% to USD 190.5 billion, with particularly strong growth in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. Average IPO size increased 31.2% to USD 129.5 million, and 32 IPOs globally raised more than USD 1 billion over the year. Exchange-traded derivatives volumes declined 47.1% overall to 93.76 billion contracts, driven by a 57.1% drop in options activity, largely reflecting regulatory changes affecting currency and stock index options trading on the National Stock Exchange of India. Equity derivatives volumes fell 58.4%, while commodity derivatives rose 17.5%, with energy and precious metals showing the strongest growth. Interest rate derivatives increased 2.3%, supported by long-term contracts, and ETF derivatives volumes rose 24.2%. The report further notes that global growth in 2026 is expected to range between 3.1% and 3.6%, supported by investment in artificial intelligence and more accommodative monetary policy, although geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation remain key risk factors for capital markets.
The Bank for International Settlements published a BIS Bulletin examining how a small group of global artificial intelligence firms is expanding across multiple layers of the AI supply chain, with economies of scale and integration across compute, infrastructure, data, models and applications strengthening their macroeconomic influence. The analysis shows that the top seven firms are publicly listed United States companies worth more than twice the next 13 combined, and that by end-2025 publicly listed AI giants accounted for 30–40% of total market capitalisation in the United States, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and the Netherlands.
The Bank for International Settlements has published a BIS Bulletin analysing how a small set of global AI firms is expanding across multiple layers of the AI supply chain and gaining macroeconomic heft across jurisdictions. It argues that economies of scale and scope, alongside incentives to integrate across compute, infrastructure, data tools, models and applications, are supporting the emergence of large firms whose investment decisions and control over critical inputs can influence aggregate investment, innovation and other macroeconomic outcomes. The bulletin maps the top 20 AI firms by supply chain presence and market value. It finds that the largest are headquartered in the United States, China, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and the Netherlands. The top seven are all publicly listed US firms and, together, are worth more than twice the next 13. US and Chinese giants tend to operate across most or all layers of the AI supply chain. Several other top firms are more specialised chipmakers that supply critical compute inputs. Private US model developers remain concentrated in model development, while building compute and infrastructure capacity through partnerships. By the end of 2025, publicly listed AI giants accounted for 30–40% of total market capitalisation in the United States, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and the Netherlands, versus around 10% in China, while their shares of total capital expenditure and revenues were also rising in multiple jurisdictions, including 21% of total capex in the United States and 26% in South Korea at the end of 2024. For US publicly listed giants, the analysis finds an expansion from roughly two supply chain roles on average in 2000–04 to three to four in 2020–24, alongside a greater concentration of deal-making activity in AI markets since 2017, including nearly 70% of deals in AI models and 33% in AI applications in the latest periods. The bulletin closes by framing policy trade-offs around sovereign AI strategies and cross-border dependencies, and highlights measures focused on access to key inputs, interoperable standards and multi-cloud strategies, competition policy, and macro-financial oversight of system-wide dependencies and the evolving financial structure of AI giants.
The Financial Action Task Force published a paper analysing the rising threat of cyber-enabled fraud and how jurisdictions can apply the FATF Recommendations to mitigate associated money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks. It highlights payment transparency measures, strengthened asset recovery tools, standards for virtual assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers, beneficial ownership requirements and enhanced public–private and international co-operation as key elements of the response.
The Financial Action Task Force has published a paper examining the evolving threat of cyber-enabled fraud and how jurisdictions can use the FATF Recommendations to address associated money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks. The paper frames cyber-enabled fraud as a widespread profit-motivated crime that generates large volumes of illicit proceeds, with digitalisation enabling faster movement of funds and more sophisticated social engineering schemes. The analysis notes that 156 jurisdictions, representing 90% of assessed jurisdictions, explicitly identify fraud as a major money laundering risk. It highlights growth indicators including a 61% increase in scam cases in Singapore over two years, fraud accounting for more than 40% of all crimes in the United Kingdom, and estimates in several countries that up to 15% of adults have been victims of a successful attempt, with losses reaching at least into the tens of billions of dollars per year in the United States. The paper links the scale-up in fraud to enablers such as artificial intelligence and deepfakes, expansion of online service delivery, and payment infrastructure that allows rapid cross-border transfers, including through virtual assets, often outpacing detection and intervention. It also points to operational challenges around information sharing and international co-operation, and describes large-scale schemes tied to transnational organised crime groups, including “scam centres”, with laundering mechanisms often embedded from the outset through nominee accounts, money mule networks, account trading and rapid movement through fintech platforms. Looking to responses within the FATF framework, the paper highlights payment transparency measures intended to improve traceability, strengthened asset recovery expectations including rapid payment-suspension and freezing mechanisms and enhanced international co-operation, and the application of FATF’s standards for virtual assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers, including customer identification and transaction tracing requirements. It also references the FATF’s beneficial ownership standards for legal persons and emphasises public–private and cross-border collaboration alongside technology-driven detection approaches.
The Financial Action Task Force published insights from its 25–26 February 2026 Learning and Development Forum in London, highlighting a shared view among public authorities and major banks that implementation of the risk-based approach, particularly risk-based supervision, should pivot toward demonstrable effectiveness and prioritisation of the highest risks. Participants called for stronger alignment across supervisors, financial intelligence units, law enforcement and the private sector, alongside greater trust and continuous communication to support proportional supervision and a move away from a zero-failure culture.
The Financial Action Task Force published meeting insights from its 25–26 February 2026 Learning and Development Forum in London, setting out a shared view from public authorities and major banks that implementation of the risk-based approach—particularly risk-based supervision—needs to pivot further toward demonstrable effectiveness and shared prioritisation of the highest risks. Discussions highlighted the need for greater alignment across supervisors, financial intelligence units and law enforcement agencies, and the private sector on system-wide priorities so resources can shift toward higher-value activity and away from low-value or defensive activity. Trust and continuous communication were framed as prerequisites for proportionality in supervision, alongside a move away from a zero-failure culture and a tighter focus on measures most likely to prevent and detect crime while reducing friction for lower-risk customers. The insights also pointed to more dynamic, collaborative risk identification and wider use of public-private partnerships to share operational intelligence and improve reporting outcomes, as well as evolving supervisory techniques that emphasise “function over form” and greater use of technology, including the shift of some supervisory work from onsite to offsite.
Active global consultations
Regional developments
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has opened a public consultation on a proposed cash services standard that would require banks to provide free cash withdrawal, deposit and swap services close to where people live. The proposal targets 95 percent access within 3 km in urban areas, access within 15km in rural settlements and within 30km for those living remotely.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has opened a public consultation on introducing a cash services standard that would require banks to provide a minimum level of free-to-use cash withdrawal, cash deposit and cash swap services close to where people live, with enough sites to avoid long wait times. Under the proposal, 95 percent of people living in urban areas would be within a 3 km one-way journey of free cash services, while 95 percent of people in rural settlements would be within 15 km and those living remotely within 30 km. The standard would also set a minimum density of provision of at least 2.5 multi-bank, full-service cash sites per 10,000 people, or an equivalent footprint using partial service sites. Compliance would be assessed at the Territorial Authority area level. The Reserve Bank also flags that exceptions may be needed to reflect unique local circumstances. The proposal is illustrated using “multi-bank, full-service cash sites” that would offer cash withdrawal, cash deposit and cash swap services to customers of any bank. The Reserve Bank notes that only five such sites currently exist. It estimates that compliance would increase banks’ aggregate operating costs by NZD 104 million per year.
South Korea's Financial Services Commission proposes amending its whistleblower reward program for unfair trading and accounting fraud by removing fixed payout caps and linking rewards to recovered illicit gains or penalties. Changes include uncapped rewards up to 30% of recovered amounts, minimum rewards of KRW 5 million for unfair trading and KRW 3 million for accounting fraud, and expanded eligibility for reports to various government agencies.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has proposed amendments to overhaul its whistleblower reward program for unfair trading and accounting fraud, removing fixed payout caps, tying rewards to recovered illicit gains or penalties, and allowing rewards regardless of which government agency first receives the report. The changes would replace current caps of KRW 3 billion for unfair trading and KRW 1 billion for accounting fraud with uncapped rewards of up to 30% of recovered illicit gains or penalties, calibrated to the whistleblower’s contribution. Minimum rewards would be set at KRW 5 million for unfair trading and KRW 3 million for accounting fraud, and discretionary rewards up to those amounts could be paid even where no administrative fine is imposed if the report merits a reward. Eligibility would expand beyond reports filed directly with the FSC, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange, or the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants to also include reports first submitted to other authorities such as the National Police Agency or the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, provided the information is shared or referred. An inter-agency consultative mechanism is planned to support referrals and information sharing.
The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission coordinated with Google to block and remove investment scam applications impersonating licensed securities firms or brokers. The authority has also launched investigations, issued public warnings and published the names of the applications through its Investor Alert system.
The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has coordinated with Google to block and remove investment scam applications that impersonate licensed securities companies or brokers, aiming to cut off access channels and reduce public harm. It has also initiated an investigation, published the names of the apps through its Investor Alert system, and issued public warnings. The SEC said investment scams are becoming more sophisticated, often using social media, online advertising or direct messages and taking forms such as directing victims to transfer funds to specified accounts or to download apps and use websites. It framed the measures under its “3Cs” approach of consultation, communication and collaboration, and stated that coordinated blocking actions can be completed within 7 minutes to 48 hours.
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) announced initiatives to enhance banks' climate risk management and sustainable finance, including the Indonesia–UK Strategic Partnership Working Group on Climate Financing. The Indonesia Climate Banking Forum aims to coordinate authorities and the financial industry for sustainable policy direction. OJK also released the Climate Risk and Banking Resilience Assessment, developed with the Australian government and Prospera, and the Indonesia Banking Sustainability Maturity Report 2025.
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) set out new steps to strengthen banks’ climate risk management and resilience and to mobilise sustainable finance, including launching the Indonesia–UK Strategic Partnership Working Group on Climate Financing with the UK government at the second Indonesia Climate Banking Forum in Jakarta. OJK also released two publications aimed at supporting supervisory and industry approaches to climate resilience and sustainable finance. The working group was presented as a follow-up to the Indonesia–UK strategic partnership agreed by President Prabowo Subianto and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in January and was inaugurated by UK and OJK officials. OJK’s head of banking supervision said the banking sector’s capital position remains sufficient to absorb climate-related pressures in a well-managed transition scenario, with capital adequacy ratios staying above regulatory requirements. The Climate Risk and Banking Resilience Assessment is a forward-looking assessment framework developed with the Australian government and Prospera to measure the impact of climate risks on banking-sector resilience and provide a science-based reference for transition strategies, while the Indonesia Banking Sustainability Maturity Report 2025 assesses banks’ progress in implementing sustainable finance to inform OJK’s supervisory policy direction. OJK said the Indonesia Climate Banking Forum is intended to become a regular forum for coordination across authorities, ministries, public bodies and the financial services industry to provide measurable sustainability policy direction and support ongoing climate and sustainability financing.
The National Steering Committee on Financial Inclusion, chaired by Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, reviewed delivery of the 2020-2025 financial inclusion strategy and steered completion of the 2026-2030 draft strategy. Reported results include completion of all 62 action programme tasks and outperformance on several indicators, including 86.97% of adults holding a bank payment account and 58.86% average annual growth in cashless payment transactions. The draft strategy sets 2030 targets including 95% of the population aged 15 and over holding a transaction account and cashless payment value reaching 30 times GDP.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, as chair of the National Steering Committee on Financial Inclusion, convened the committee’s third meeting to review implementation of Vietnam’s 2020-2025 financial inclusion strategy and to steer completion of the 2026-2030 draft strategy. He broadly endorsed the reported progress and framed the next phase around equal access to banking and financial services for households and businesses, with a focus on priority groups. Authorities reported that agencies and localities had completed 62 of 62 tasks under the 2020-2025 action programme, alongside measures to strengthen the legal framework, promote cashless payments, upgrade payment and credit information infrastructure, and expand data sharing, financial education and consumer protection. Six of nine quantitative targets were met or exceeded, including 86.97% of adults holding a bank payment account, 33% of adults having saved at a bank in the prior 12 months, average annual growth of 58.86% in cashless payment transactions, around 290,000 small and medium-sized enterprises with outstanding credit, and 71% of adults with credit history information in the State Bank of Vietnam’s credit information system, while the share of credit for agriculture and rural development averaged about 24% of total system credit against a 25% target. For the 2026-2030 strategy, the State Bank of Vietnam has circulated a draft for input from ministries, local authorities, banking-sector units and international organisations, and the Prime Minister directed further refinement and implementation planning. Proposed 2030 targets include 95% of the population aged 15 and over holding a transaction account, cashless payment value reaching 30 times GDP, at least 30% of adults saving at credit institutions, at least 300,000 SMEs with outstanding credit, agriculture and rural credit at about 25% of total credit, at least 75% of adults with credit history information, and insurance-sector revenue of about 3.3-3.5% of GDP.
The European Central Bank's Governing Council has endorsed the Council of the European Union's recommendation to appoint Boris Vujcic as ECB Vice-President, confirming his qualifications in monetary policy and banking. Vujcic, currently Governor of the Croation National Bank, will begin his non-renewable eight-year term on 1 June 2026, succeeding Luis de Guindos.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank has adopted an opinion on the Council of the European Union’s recommendation for the appointment of the ECB Vice-President, raising no objection to the proposed candidate, Boris Vujcic. The opinion concludes that Vujcic meets the Treaty requirement to be a person of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary policy or banking matters. He currently serves as Governor of the Croation National Bank. Following the Governing Council’s opinion and an opinion from the European Parliament, the European Council will appoint the new Vice-President. Vujcic is set to serve a non-renewable eight-year term from 1 June 2026, succeeding Luis de Guindos whose term ends on 31 May 2026.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a supervisory briefing to harmonize algorithmic trading supervision under MiFID II across the EU. It provides National Competent Authorities with tools and expectations for supervising firms, addressing pre-trade controls, governance, testing frameworks, and AI-related risks.
The European Securities and Markets Authority published a non-binding supervisory briefing aimed at supporting more consistent supervision of firms engaged in algorithmic trading across the European Union under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II). The briefing provides National Competent Authorities with practical tools and clarified expectations in areas where supervisory approaches have diverged, and includes considerations linked to the growing use of artificial intelligence in algorithmic trading. The document focuses on governance arrangements, testing frameworks, outsourcing of algorithmic trading systems and pre-trade controls, drawing on supervisory experience and insights from a common supervisory action on pre-trade controls. It clarifies key concepts, including what constitutes algorithmic trading, an algorithm and an algorithmic trading strategy, and sets expectations on testing (including after material changes), stress testing capacity to withstand increased volumes, and accountability where third-party algorithms, outsourcing chains or direct electronic access arrangements are involved.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have launched a consultation on revised joint suitability Guidelines for management body members and key function holders, alongside EBA draft Regulatory Technical Standards setting documentation requirements for large institutions. The Suitability Package would align assessments across the European Union, including ex ante applications where supervisors operate ex post regimes, mandatory assessments for heads of control functions and chief financial officers.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have launched a consultation on revised joint Guidelines for assessing the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders at banks and investment firms, alongside an EBA consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) setting out the documentation and information large institutions must submit to competent authorities. Together, the “Suitability Package” is intended to harmonise suitability assessments and support supervisory convergence across the European Union. The revised Guidelines incorporate new requirements for large institutions introduced by the revised Capital Requirements Directive, including the use of ex ante applications where competent authorities conduct ex post assessments, and mandatory competent-authority suitability assessments for key roles such as heads of control functions and chief financial officers. They also further specify requirements for third-country branches and strengthen links to the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT) framework by providing guidance on identifying reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering or terrorist financing risks. The draft RTS would harmonise the minimum content of submissions, including the suitability questionnaire, curriculum vitae and internal suitability assessment, to make information consistent, complete and comparable across the European Union, and the package also introduces targeted simplification and streamlining measures to reduce administrative burden.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has chosen four firm to test stablecoin services in its Regulatory Sandbox under proposed UK regulations. The initiative will focus on stablecoin issuance for payments, wholesale settlement, and crypto trading, with findings expected to inform final stablecoin rules in 2026.
The Financial Conduct Authority has selected four firms to participate in a stablecoins cohort in its Regulatory Sandbox, testing how their stablecoin services would operate under proposed UK regulation in a controlled environment. From 20 applications, it chose Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, Revolut and VVTX. Testing will primarily focus on stablecoin issuance, with the selected proposals covering use cases including payments, wholesale settlement and crypto trading. The sandbox is intended to generate evidence on how the FCA’s proposed policy works in practice and to provide specialist feedback to participants, alongside other innovation initiatives such as the Digital Securities Sandbox. Testing begins in Q1 2026 and the FCA expects findings to inform final stablecoin rules later in 2026.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released examples of good and poor practices in pre-contractual disclosures for funds using Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) labels. The guidance highlights the importance of clear, concise, and accurate disclosures that reflect fund investments and meet labelling requirements.
United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published examples of good and poor practice it has observed in firms’ pre-contractual disclosures when using sustainability labels under the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements regime. The material is intended to help firms in scope of SDR that wish to adopt labels for authorised and unauthorised funds, and to improve transparency by ensuring disclosures clearly explain how a fund meets the labelling requirements and accurately reflect what it invests in. The examples draw on cases seen through the fund authorisations process for updates to pre-contractual disclosures and on engagement with industry stakeholders. The authority highlights that, despite improvement as firms have become more familiar with SDR and more labelled products have come to market, disclosures have not always made it clear whether or how the labelling criteria are met. It sets expectations for disclosures to be clear and fund-specific, to use the correct label, and to align with underlying holdings, and it provides label-by-label illustrations across Sustainability Focus, Sustainability Improvers, Sustainability Impact and Sustainability Mixed Goals. The examples cover topics including clear and measurable sustainability objectives, disclosure of material negative outcomes and conflicts, use of a robust and evidence-based absolute standard of sustainability including the requirement for Focus and Improvers funds to invest at least 70% of gross asset value in line with the objective, stewardship alignment, KPIs that demonstrate progress, escalation planning for assets not improving under the Improvers label, and the need for an articulated theory of change and measurable investment activities under the Impact label. For Mixed Goals, the examples include pitfalls around unclear allocation between label criteria and double counting assets towards multiple proportions. The authority notes that firms have been able to use SDR sustainability labels since July 2024 and that the examples are not comprehensive, are not templates and do not replace the rules and guidance in the Environmental, Social and Governance sourcebook. It also reiterates that references to sustainability characteristics must be consistent with the product’s sustainability characteristics under the anti-greenwashing rule.
HM Treasury announced Katharine Braddick CB as the next Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England and Chief Executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, effective 1 July 2026. Braddick, currently Group Head of Strategic Policy at Barclays, will succeed Sam Woods and lead the supervision of banks, insurers, and major investment firms.
HM Treasury announced that His Majesty The King and the Chancellor have appointed Katharine Braddick CB as the next Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England and Chief Executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). She will succeed Sam Woods when his term ends in June 2026 and will take up the role on 1 July for a five-year term. In the post, Braddick will lead the PRA’s supervision and regulation of banks, building societies, insurers and major investment firms, and will sit on the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee and the Court of the Bank of England.Braddick is currently Group Head of Strategic Policy and a senior adviser to the CEO at Barclays, and previously served at HM Treasury as Director of Financial Services with responsibility for international and European issues.
The Financial Action Task Force of Latin America has published its 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, setting risk-based priorities to strengthen members’ anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and proliferation financing systems and support preparation for the Fifth Round of Mutual Evaluations. It focuses on improving mutual evaluation quality and follow-up, deepening regional and international cooperation, and addressing emerging risks including virtual assets and beneficial ownership transparency.
The Financial Action Task Force of Latin America has released its 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, setting the organisation’s priorities for the next five years to support stronger national systems for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Approved by the Plenary of Representatives in Antigua Guatemala in December 2025, the plan anchors GAFILAT’s work around a risk-based approach, improved system effectiveness, and targeted technical support for members in the Fifth Round of Mutual Evaluations. The plan emphasises institutional strengthening of members, improving the quality and consistency of mutual evaluations and follow-up, and deepening regional and international cooperation and coordination. It also highlights innovation to address emerging threats, including virtual assets and other new technologies, and points to priority areas such as beneficial ownership transparency, risk-based supervision, and the timely and strategic use of financial intelligence. Operationally, it includes measures to strengthen evaluator capacity, modernise information management and monitoring tools, promote use of the System of Analysis, Review and Self-diagnosis (SARA) for online monitoring of implementation of the 40 Financial Action Task Force recommendations and follow-up processes, and expand training through an updated CAMPUS GAFILAT and a regional training framework covering risk assessment, financial intelligence and asset recovery, international cooperation, national strategies, and preparation for mutual evaluations
Brazil’s National Monetary Council and the Central Bank of Brazil adopted Resolution CMN No. 5,280 to extend client and user confidentiality requirements to virtual asset service providers, aligning their treatment with other financial intermediaries following their integration into the Central Bank of Brazil’s regulatory perimeter. Additionally, they approved resolutions establishing accounting recognition, measurement and disclosure rules for virtual assets
Brazil’s National Monetary Council (CMN) and the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) approved Resolution CMN No. 5,280 to apply the client and user confidentiality requirements in Complementary Law No. 105/2001 to virtual asset service providers. The measure is positioned as aligning regulatory treatment across financial intermediaries, strengthening governance expectations for these providers, and supporting the prevention and detection of illicit activity involving virtual assets, following their full integration into the BCB regulatory perimeter on 2 February 2026. The CMN and BCB also approved Resolution CMN No. 5,281 and BCB Resolution No. 550, setting criteria for the recognition, measurement and accounting disclosure of virtual assets by financial institutions and other BCB-authorised institutions. The rules cover virtual assets under Article 3 of Law No. 14,478/2022, including utility tokens used for payments or investment, but exclude assets that merely represent traditional assets or qualify as financial instruments, which remain subject to their existing accounting frameworks. The framework replaces the prior approach of treating virtual assets as other non-financial assets, was developed following Public Consultation Notice No. 122/2025, and will enter into force on 1 January 2027.
Peru's Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) has unveiled a roadmap for implementing an Open Finance system to facilitate secure financial data sharing via APIs. The initiative aims to enhance competition, innovation, and financial access for unbanked individuals and SMEs. The roadmap outlines four phases, starting with an industry diagnostic in 2026 and progressing to a full Open Finance system by 2029.
Peru's Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) has presented a roadmap to implement an Open Finance system that would allow users to share their financial information securely and in a standardised way via application programming interfaces (APIs) across banks, insurers, cajas, pension fund administrators and fintechs. The initiative is framed as supporting competition and innovation while expanding access for unbanked individuals and improving financing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises. The roadmap covers four phases: (1) an industry diagnostic in the first half of 2026 to establish a baseline and identify regulatory, operational and technological gaps; (2) regulatory development, governance arrangements and technical specifications from the first half of 2026 to the second half of 2027; (3) a gradual Open Banking implementation from the first half of 2027 to 2029, including regulatory adjustments and the rollout of initial data groups with testing and market deployment; and (4) a shift from Open Banking to broader Open Finance from 2029 onwards by expanding participants and the scope of data, including enabling information exchange across industries. User consent is positioned as central, with data shared to recipient entities for the period and purposes set by the user, and participation conditioned on meeting required information security standards. The SBS will lead the regulatory process in coordination with other authorities and through structured industry engagement and financial education efforts.
The Bank of the Republic of Colombia published a technical paper on Bre-B, Colombia’s interoperable instant payments system, covering its design, regulatory framework and architecture centred on the Centralized Key Directory (DICE) and Operational Settlement Mechanism (MOL). It reports 218 participating entities, 99 million registered keys and 370.4 million transactions settled via MOL moving COP 59 trillion between 6 October 2025 and 31 January 2026.
The Bank of the Republic of Colombia has published a technical paper describing the conception, design and implementation of Bre-B, Colombia’s interoperable instant payments system, and reporting initial adoption since the system entered full operation on 6 October 2025. Bre-B is structured to interconnect multiple low-value instant payment systems under common rules, technical standards and a public-private governance model, with the central bank acting as both interoperability regulator and operator of core public digital infrastructure. The paper sets out Bre-B’s architecture, which combines a centralized key (alias) directory (the Centralized Key Directory, DICE) with a real-time gross settlement mechanism in central bank money (the Operational Settlement Mechanism, MOL), while transaction processing remains with participating low-value instant payment systems. It outlines the regulatory framework underpinning interoperability, including the legal mandate requiring low-value instant payment systems providing instant payments to interoperate, and the operational and technical specifications for ISO 20022-based messaging, standardized QR rules, maximum end-to-end processing time of 20 seconds, and a maximum transaction value of 1,000 Basic Value Units (UVB). As of January 2026, Bre-B interoperated five instant payment systems (Transfiya, Credibanco, Redeban’s Entrecuentas, Servibanca and Visionamos) with 218 participating entities, and the central key directory recorded 99 million registered keys between 14 July 2025 and 31 January 2026. Between 6 October 2025 and 31 January 2026, the MOL settled 370.4 million transactions in real time, moving COP 59 trillion with an average transaction value of COP 159,456. Looking ahead, the paper points to a consolidation agenda focused on operational stability, ongoing refinement of standards and messaging, promotion and security, and scalability to additional use cases. It also anticipates the entry in 2026 of two additional low-value instant payment systems, Gou Payments (Grupo Aval) and Drixi (operated by the central bank), alongside continued work to expand functionality and strengthen fraud prevention and incident management.
Authorities in Dubai, Kuwait and Singapore intensified monitoring and activated precautionary market and operational continuity measures amid the escalating Middle East conflict. The Dubai Financial Services Authority closed Nasdaq Dubai on 2 March 2026 and 3 March 2026, while Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority briefly suspended trading on Boursa Kuwait before resuming from 2 March 2026 following a market assessment. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it is monitoring developments, with foreign exchange and money marketsfunctioning normally at this time.
Authorities in Dubai, Kuwait and Singapore issued market and operational updates in response to heightened regional uncertainty linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) ordered a temporary closure of Nasdaq Dubai and confirmed that supervisory services would continue under remote working arrangements, while Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) suspended trading on Boursa Kuwait for one day before authorising a resumption. In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it is monitoring developments and assessing potential impacts on the domestic economy and financial system, and confirmed that foreign exchange and money markets continue to function normally. Nasdaq Dubai, based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), will be closed on 2 March 2026 and 3 March 2026, halting trading in equities, derivatives, sukuk and conventional bonds on the exchange. DFSA services will continue with employees working remotely from 2 March to 4 March 2026 under normal Ramadan hours of 9am to 3pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 12pm Friday, and authorised firms were reminded to report any operational changes via the DFSA ePortal. The Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC Authority) issued parallel business continuity guidance for the DIFC community, urging members to follow Dubai and UAE government instructions, including remaining indoors where possible, and said staff will work remotely from 2 March to 4 March 2026 while services continue, with regulated clients asked to update the DFSA if their operations are affected. In Kuwait, the CMA cited turbulent regional conditions in suspending trading on 1 March 2026 as a precautionary measure to safeguard market stability, and resumed trading from 2 March 2026 after assessing prevailing conditions and the soundness of the capital market system. MAS noted that the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) remains within its appreciating policy band and reiterated that it is positioned to respond, if necessary, to risks to medium-term price stability.
The Central Bank of the UAE has partnered with Core42 to develop the Sovereign Financial Cloud Services Infrastructure, the first dedicated financial cloud ecosystem. Part of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme, it aims to enhance data sovereignty, cybersecurity, and operational agility for the UAE financial sector.
The Central Bank of the UAE has signed an agreement with Core42 to build a Sovereign Financial Cloud Services Infrastructure (SFCSI), described as the world’s first dedicated financial cloud ecosystem. The project forms part of the CBUAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme and is intended to provide a centralised, highly secure and isolated cloud platform for the UAE financial sector. The SFCSI is designed to ensure data sovereignty, strengthen protection against cyber threats, improve operational agility and support the continuous availability of critical financial services. It will also integrate artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to enable intelligent automation and real-time data analysis, and provide a unified framework for licensed financial institutions to manage multi-cloud services.
Saudi Arabia's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is consulting on amendments to allow subsidiaries of Main Market-listed companies to list shares directly on the Main Market without an IPO, pending shareholder approval. The proposal includes changes to disclosure and share registration requirements. Issuers and financial advisors may share information with potential investors and advising-licensed Capital Market Institutions before CMA approval, provided research and reports are not published prematurely.
Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority opened a public consultation on draft amendments that would allow subsidiaries of Main Market listed companies to register and list their shares directly on the Main Market without an initial public offering. The CMA frames the route as an alternative intended to reduce listing time, procedures and costs. Issuers would need to obtain the approvals required under their bylaws and the Companies Law and its implementing regulations before registering shares for direct listing. Before CMA approval of a share-registration application, an issuer and its financial advisor could present information and financial statements to a group of potential investors to gauge interest in a direct listing. Information could also be disclosed to a specified group of advising-licensed capital market institutions to prepare research and financial reports, provided those reports are not published before approval. The draft sets disclosure expectations via a registration document, including requirements to explain the mechanism for determining the guiding share price and the risks associated with that mechanism, and specifies advisor requirements including an independent financial advisor for this route. It would also introduce dealing restrictions, including a 12-month lock-up on disposals by the parent listed company and certain existing shareholders from the start of trading unless a longer period is stated in the registration document.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has issued a guidance note on consumer protection and the responsible use of artificial intelligence and machine learning by licensed financial institutions. The note outlines principles for governance, fairness, transparency, human oversight, and data privacy, aligning with the UAE's national AI strategy. It aims to balance technological advancement with consumer protection and financial stability.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has issued a non-binding guidance note setting out principles for the consumer protection and responsible adoption and use of artificial intelligence and machine learning by licensed financial institutions, including insurance providers, operating in the UAE. The framework focuses on how AI and machine-learning systems are designed, deployed and overseen where they affect consumers, covering governance, fairness, transparency, data handling, monitoring, human oversight and third-party arrangements. Boards and senior management are expected to remain accountable for AI and ML systems and outcomes, embed AI risks into existing governance and risk management, and maintain an inventory of all AI models with key metadata, including purpose and risk rating, aligned with the CBUAE’s model management standards. Controls should prevent discriminatory or manipulative outcomes, with periodic testing at least annually and whenever models are upgraded or materially changed, and transparency to customers should be heightened for “high-impact decisions” that materially affect access to products or services. Data and security expectations include privacy-by-design and security-by-design, compliance with UAE personal data protection requirements, stress testing and operational resilience measures, ongoing monitoring with the ability to cease model use via human intervention, and strengthened outsourcing due diligence, audit and information rights, and annual independent cybersecurity reviews for third-party AI providers. CBUAE expects LFIs to use the principles to inform internal policies and procedures and notes that the guidance supplements, rather than replaces, existing laws, regulations and directives.
The Bank of Mauritius has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub to foster cooperation on innovation in the banking and financial sector. The agreement focuses on knowledge sharing, technical assistance, and joint initiatives, particularly in emerging technologies for banking and payment solutions.
The Bank of Mauritius announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub (RBIH) to establish structured cooperation on innovation in the banking and financial sector. The MoU sets out collaboration areas including knowledge sharing, technical assistance and joint initiatives, with a focus on using emerging technologies for banking and payment solutions and other financial services. The Bank of Mauritius indicated that the partnership is intended to support the adoption of emerging technologies, strengthen financial-sector resilience and enhance regulatory frameworks. As a next step, the Bank of Mauritius and RBIH will set up working groups to identify priorities and formulate joint work plans.
The New York State Department of Financial Services has published proposed rules to implement New York’s new statutory framework for buy now, pay later lending, establishing a licensing and supervisory regime and new consumer protection requirements for BNPL providers operating in the state. Non-exempt firms would need a BNPL license and category permission to offer interest-free and or interest-bearing BNPL loans, with license status displayed on consumer interfaces and advertising subject to specified standards.
The New York State Department of Financial Services has published proposed rules to implement New York’s new statutory framework for buy now, pay later lending. The proposal would establish a licensing and supervisory regime for BNPL providers operating in the state and introduce new consumer protection requirements. Under the proposal, non-exempt firms would need a BNPL license and category permission to offer interest-free and or interest-bearing BNPL loans. License status would need to be displayed on consumer interfaces, and advertising would be subject to specific standards. The rules would prohibit excessive fees, including convenience charges. Penalty fees would be subject to a safe harbor cap of USD 8, unless a higher cost-based fee is approved by the superintendent, and cumulative penalty fees would be capped at the original amount financed. Separate fees for payment methods would generally be restricted, and lenders would be limited to two payment attempts using the same payment method for a due amount unless the consumer gives new, specific authorisation. Consumer-facing requirements include mandatory pre-transaction disclosures with consumer acknowledgement, disclosure of whether loans may be reported to credit reporting agencies, post-transaction confirmations within one business day, and periodic statements with minimum delivery timeframes designed to avoid treating payments as late. The proposal would also require risk-based underwriting that assesses income and indebtedness and would prohibit using a consumer’s social network for credit decisions. It would set procedures and timelines for dispute and billing error resolution, and it would impose data privacy rules that require affirmative, use-case-specific consent to use, sell, or share non-public consumer data beyond what is needed to provide the BNPL loan, with consent expiring after one year and withdrawal triggering deletion requirements
The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rule and form amendments to implement the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, requiring directors and officers of foreign private issuers with Section 12-registered equity securities to file Section 16 beneficial ownership. The changes remove the prior blanket Section 16 exemption for foreign private issuers while retaining exemptions from the Section 16(b) short-swing profit rule and Section 16(c) short selling prohibition.
The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rule and form amendments to implement the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, requiring directors and officers of foreign private issuers (FPIs) with a class of equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to disclose beneficial ownership and transactions via Section 16 reports filed electronically and in English beginning March 18, 2026. The Section 16(a) reporting obligation applies to directors and officers, while ten percent holders of FPIs’ equity securities are excluded from the new filing requirement. Rule 3a12-3(b) is amended to remove the existing blanket exemption for FPIs from Section 16 and replace it with exemptions only from Section 16(b)’s short-swing profit disgorgement rule and Section 16(c)’s short selling prohibition. Rule 16a-2 is revised to exclude ten percent beneficial owners of FPIs’ equity securities from Section 16(a) and related rules. Forms 3, 4 and 5 and their instructions are updated to reflect the new covered persons and add technical fields, including an optional foreign trading symbol and address fields for postal code and country code. Directors and officers of FPIs whose equity securities were registered under Section 12 as of December 18, 2025 must file initial reports on March 18, 2026.
The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, proposing requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, and certain custody activities by OCC-supervised entities. Among other things, the proposal would require identifiable one-to-one reserves in specified high-quality liquid assets, redemption within two business days with a seven-calendar-day extension if redemption demands exceed 10 percent in a 24-hour period, and monthly reserve composition disclosures.
The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), proposing regulations for payment stablecoin issuance and related activities by entities within its jurisdiction. The draft would apply to OCC-regulated permitted payment stablecoin issuers, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, and certain custody activities conducted by OCC-supervised entities. The proposal would require permitted issuers to maintain identifiable reserve assets backing outstanding payment stablecoins on at least a one-to-one basis, with reserves limited to specified high-quality liquid assets including cash, deposits or insured shares payable upon demand, and United States Treasury bills, notes, or bonds with a remaining maturity of 93 days or less, as well as certain overnight repurchase and reverse repurchase arrangements. Issuers would have to redeem a payment stablecoin no later than two business days after a redemption request, with the redemption period extended to seven calendar days if redemption demands exceed 10 percent of outstanding issuance value in a 24-hour period. Monthly disclosures on reserve composition would be published, accompanied by an examination from a registered public accounting firm and certifications from the chief executive officer and chief financial officer. The proposal also reiterates the statutory ban on paying interest or yield to holders solely for holding, using, or retaining the payment stablecoin.
Monetary policy developments
Policy decisions in the week of 23 February showed a clearer tilt toward easing than the earlier, hold-heavy pattern, as several central banks judged that disinflation progress and steadier currency conditions created room to support activity while remaining vigilant to external risks. Nigeria delivered “moderate” easing with a 50 bp cut (to 26.5%) after an extended decline in inflation and a marked improvement in reserves, while Hungary began a cautious cutting phase with a 25 bp reduction (to 6.25%), explicitly framing the move as compatible with keeping real rates positive. Thailand also lowered its policy rate (25 bp to 1.00%, on a split vote), citing below-potential growth, tighter credit conditions and rising downside risks to already subdued inflation, and Jamaica trimmed rates (25 bp to 5.50%) as food supplies recovered faster than expected and inflation fell below target. The largest move came from The Gambia, which cut 200 bp (to 14%) as headline inflation continued to ease and growth remained resilient. “Holds” persisted where risk management dominated: Israel kept rates at 4.0%, noting inflation around the midpoint of the target range but highlighting renewed geopolitical uncertainty and housing-related price pressures, while Korea (Base Rate 2.50%) and Botswana (MoPR 3.5%) also stayed on hold, emphasising financial-stability considerations and inflation remaining within objective ranges.