Global Regulator & Central Bank News Roundup

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has launched a consultation on how its existing settlement services could support tokenised wholesale markets, building on Project Acacia. The primary focus is on synchronising tokenised platforms with the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) and Fast Settlement Service (FSS), linking asset transfers with interbank settlement in central bank reserves. These arrangements could support delivery-versus-payment settlement and exchange at par between different issuers’ tokenised private money, as well as conversion between tokenised private money and traditional bank deposits. Beyond synchronisation, the consultation explores whether tokenised central bank reserves could offer additional benefits, including atomic settlement and greater payment programmability. It also examines stablecoin issuers’ potential use of central bank reserves for backing, settlement and liquidity management. These options remain exploratory, with no commitment to changing settlement services, issuing tokenised reserves or extending reserve access. Access questions will be considered through a review of the Exchange Settlement Account Policy after passage of the government’s proposed reforms to regulate payment service providers, including stablecoin issuers. The consultation will also inform the RITS modernisation program, with a broader consultation expected in 2027. Alongside this wholesale work, a joint RBA and Australian Treasury report reaffirms that there is no clear public interest case for issuing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), maintaining their 2024 assessment. Public engagement through 33 focus groups involving 239 participants identified no material unmet payment needs that participants believed a retail CBDC would uniquely address. Participants generally preferred improvements to existing payment options and continued to value cash as a backup during outages. Concerns about payment security and personal data did not translate into a perceived advantage for a retail CBDC over existing digital payments.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) has set out its policy direction for security tokens, moving the framework beyond fractional investment securities to support phased tokenization of conventional securities such as funds, bonds and shares. The plan consolidates work begun through the public-private consultative body launched in March 2026 ahead of the amended security token legislation taking effect on February 4, 2027. In the first phase from February 2027, tokenization will cover private money market funds and private corporate bonds for institutional investors, unlisted shares through a trust structure and public fractional investment securities. Later phases are intended to extend infrastructure to public securities and ultimately support on-chain settlement using stablecoins, subject to the stability and efficiency of the initial phase, market technology development and stablecoin legislation. The framework also sets substantive rules for issuance, distribution and market infrastructure. For non-monetary trust beneficiary securities used in fractional investment, the FSC will conditionally allow pooling of underlying assets and certain assets linked to uncertain future events, while establishing principles for disclosure, subscription limits, allocation and conflicts of interest. As a standard example, the retail subscription limit would be the lower of KRW 30 million and 5% of the issuance amount. Existing securities firms and over-the-counter exchanges will be able to handle security tokens within the scope of their existing licenses without a separate token-specific authorization, while a new over-the-counter licensing category will be created for debt securities and retail investors will face an annual net-purchase limit of KRW 100 million per over-the-counter exchange. Issuers seeking to act as their own account management institutions will be subject to registration requirements including KRW 4 billion in capital, specialist personnel and IT and security capabilities. The Korea Securities Depository has also developed standardized distributed ledger requirements covering participation, consensus mechanisms, record preservation and business continuity. Subordinate rule amendments covering matters including eligible securities, over-the-counter licensing and trading limits, and issuer account management requirements are expected to be proposed in late September, while infrastructure work will proceed toward the February 2027 first-phase launch.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has opened a consultation on amendments to the Payment Services Act 2019 to implement its single currency stablecoin framework and introduce further safeguards. The amendments would create a dedicated stablecoin issuance licence and reserve the “MAS-regulated stablecoin” label for licensed issuers. Core obligations would include reserve assets at least equal to the par value of tokens in circulation, redemption in the pegged currency within MAS-prescribed timeframes, safeguarding of customer money before issuance and during redemption, and compliance with existing anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, technology risk and consumer protection requirements. Stablecoins outside the framework would remain regulated as digital payment tokens. The additional proposals would prohibit issuers from paying holders interest or other benefits attributable to holding MAS-regulated stablecoins. MAS is also considering minimum cash or bank deposit holdings and caps on aggregate issuance or individual holdings. Issuers would conduct stress tests at least quarterly, maintain board-approved recovery and orderly wind-down plans reviewed at least annually, and have the technical capacity to trace, freeze or burn stablecoins used for illicit activity. MAS could impose additional capital, liquidity or reserve buffers where stress tests reveal critical vulnerabilities. A separate systemic stablecoin regime would allow MAS to designate domestic or foreign stablecoins, apply enhanced prudential, governance, recovery and resolution requirements, and restrict circulation in Singapore where an issuer does not comply. Beyond the core issuer and systemic regimes, MAS proposes separate measures for offshore issuance, retail distribution and bank-issued stablecoins. Multi-jurisdiction arrangements could bring a stablecoin jointly issued in Singapore and overseas within the MAS framework where foreign supervision is substantively equivalent, total reserves cover the global amount outstanding and the stricter applicable reserve, issuance and redemption standards are met. MAS could also recognise a limited number of foreign-issued stablecoins on a case-by-case basis, while distinguishing them from stablecoins under its direct regulation. Separately, licensed digital payment token service providers offering non-MAS-regulated stablecoins to retail customers could be required to provide enhanced reserve disclosures and risk warnings, and be restricted from marketing the tokens as “stablecoins”. Banks and merchant banks seeking to issue MAS-regulated stablecoins would have to do so through a separately licensed non-bank legal entity.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has advanced a set of measures that tighten controls on digital asset transfers and stablecoin activity while setting out safeguards for broader access to overseas digital asset derivatives. The measures include the implementation of the new Travel Rule for digital assets, which will require digital asset business operators from 27 February 2027 to strengthen transfer risk management, collect and verify information on customers and counterparties, transmit originator and beneficiary information with transfer orders, verify ownership or control of self-hosted wallets and retain transaction information for at least five years. Alongside this work, the SEC Board has also approved additional principles for stablecoin transactions through digital asset business operators in response to money laundering, cybercrime and cross-border transfer risks. Stablecoins transferred into or out of a customer account would generally have to come from or go to an account or wallet verified as belonging to that customer, with operators applying the Travel Rule alongside customer profiling and screening, blockchain analytics and other monitoring controls. Inbound and outbound transfers would each be limited to THB 5 million per day per person per operator and must be consistent with the customer’s income and financial position, although the cap would not apply to transfers between customer accounts held with SEC-supervised operators. The wider package would also strengthen oversight of market makers, impose regulatory conditions on liquidity providers used by digital asset brokers and establish supervisory expectations for off-platform transactions. Beyond these tighter transaction controls, the SEC is proposing a framework for intermediaries to facilitate investment in overseas digital asset derivatives. Retail, high net worth and ultra high net worth investors could be offered products whose key characteristics are consistent with digital asset derivatives traded in Thailand, provided they are traded on a derivatives exchange with central counterparty clearing and that meets specified regulatory or exchange-membership criteria. Products falling outside those conditions could be offered only to institutional investors, creating a differentiated access regime based on product characteristics and investor type.

The Council of Financial Regulators maintained its assessment that Australia’s financial system remains resilient despite elevated geopolitical, market and operational risks. Household and business balance sheets are generally strong, while banks retain robust capital and liquidity positions and prudent lending standards. The Council nevertheless urged financial institutions to maintain sound lending practices and strengthen cyber and operational resilience as technological change and geopolitical tensions increase threats to critical infrastructure. The Council supported the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) decision to leave macroprudential settings unchanged, including debt-to-income limits and serviceability buffers. Although tighter financial conditions have lowered housing prices and weakened market sentiment, borrower stress remains limited and most households appear resilient to adverse economic outcomes. Authorities will continue monitoring lending practices and changes in borrower finances. Interagency work is progressing on oversight gaps involving critical third parties and crisis preparedness. A Reserve Bank of Australia and National Office of Cyber Security framework defining government and industry responsibilities during a cyber crisis affecting payments will be published shortly. This complements recently issued practical guidance by APRA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), including a board and executive checklist, on cyber risks associated with frontier artificial intelligence following industry roundtables involving more than 600 participants from over 380 organizations.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has launched an investigation into Western Union Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd and The Western Union Company over concerns about their management of money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated with high-risk payment channels, customers and affiliates. The investigation will examine Western Union’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing program, its ability to monitor transactions for known typologies linked particularly to child sexual exploitation and terrorism financing, and its governance arrangements, including the global head office’s role in Australian compliance decisions. The investigation does not extend to the affiliates themselves. AUSTRAC initiated the action after considering its data and intelligence, previous regulatory engagement and an external audit ordered in 2025. It will determine whether to take further action after completing the investigation.

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) has set out its expected supervisory approach for testing Event-Based Contracts in the Astana International Financial Centre FinTech Lab. The binary derivatives may reference only financial or economic events, including securities, approved digital assets, commodities, interest rates, exchange rates and scheduled macroeconomic releases. Testing is available only through the FinTech Lab and applications will be assessed individually on a risk-based basis, with the authority able to impose product-specific conditions and limits. Event-Based Contracts may be offered only to Professional Clients and Semi-professional Clients, the latter remaining Retail Clients but subject to an appropriateness assessment and additional eligibility conditions. Semi-professional Clients face aggregate exposure limits of USD 1,000 for natural persons and USD 20,000 for body corporates, as well as a cap of 20% of net assets, with the lower applicable limit prevailing. Where no client compensation arrangement is in place, a Testing Firm's aggregate exposure is capped at USD 200,000 for Semi-professional Clients and USD 5 million for Professional Clients. Clients must be at least 21, while politically exposed persons and Kazakhstan public officials cannot participate. Contracts must be fully collateralised, with no margin, leverage or mark-to-market exposure, and Testing Firms cannot trade on contracts listed on their own platforms. Firms must provide prescribed product and risk disclosures, obtain client acknowledgement of the binary all-or-nothing risk, and maintain controls against market abuse and financial crime. The Astana Financial Services Authority will monitor contract specifications, client profiles and transactions and may tighten conditions, restrict products or require testing to cease where risks arise.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued enhanced guidance for management companies of SFC-authorised funds offered to the Hong Kong public that have direct or indirect exposure to private credit or private equity. Offering documents, including the key facts statement where appropriate, must clearly explain the extent and means of exposure, the nature and characteristics of the underlying assets, and the specific risks and implications for the fund and its investors. A fund whose aggregate direct and indirect exposure to private market assets reaches 50% or more of its net asset value will be treated as a complex product. The SFC may apply the designation below that threshold after considering the scale and nature of the exposure, the fund’s strategy, portfolio composition, liquidity and risk profile, asset characteristics and any conditions imposed by home regulators. Complex product sales requirements will then apply, including suitability assessment regardless of whether solicitation or recommendation is involved. Fund managers must also identify an appropriate target market, select distributors with sufficient product knowledge and ensure marketing materials present balanced risk disclosures. New funds may face closer scrutiny and may not be processed under the Fund Authorisation Simple Track. Managers of existing funds are expected to review their exposures, update offering documents as soon as practicable and ensure necessary communications with distributors, particularly in relation to target market identification and distributor selection. They are also encouraged to consult the SFC at the earliest opportunity if uncertain about a fund’s complex product classification.

India’s International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) have executed and operationalized a fintech cooperation agreement that enables referrals of innovative businesses seeking to enter each other’s markets. The agreement deepens the authorities’ regulatory collaboration under their broader memorandum of understanding signed in December 2025. The framework also supports information sharing on financial services and product innovation, including emerging market trends, new technologies and related regulatory developments.

Bank Indonesia announced that Destry Damayanti has been sworn in as new Governor, Aida S. Budiman as Senior Deputy Governor and Solikin M. Juhro as Deputy Governor, each for a five-year term. The appointments leave Bank Indonesia's Board of Governors comprising Damayanti as governor, Budiman as senior deputy governor, and Filianingsih Hendarta, Ricky P. Gozali, Thomas A.M. Djiwandono and Juhro as deputy governors. Damayanti had served as senior deputy governor from 2019 to 2026 and had been acting governor since July 25, 2026, while Budiman served as deputy governor from 2022 to 2026.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has submitted technical advice to the European Commission recommending minimum common standards for national insurance guarantee schemes (IGS) to address uneven policyholder protection when insurers fail, particularly across borders. Coverage would focus on policies where failure could cause the greatest financial hardship. Consistent with EIOPA’s 2020 opinion, this would include most life policies, including savings products, and selected non-life risks such as property damage and liability. Member states could extend coverage beyond the minimum. Common rules would govern when schemes are activated and how policyholders receive compensation. Activation would be required no later than when an insurer is failing or likely to fail and there is no reasonable prospect of preventing failure within a reasonable time. This would not, in itself, require immediate compensation or policy continuation. Policyholders would have a common timeframe to submit compensation claims, and schemes would face a maximum payout deadline, with member states able to require faster payments. Once schemes have compensated policyholders, their claims against the failed insurer would receive the same insolvency ranking as insurance claims under national rules. Conditions and timing for policy continuation would remain flexible, subject to the guiding principle of protecting policyholders, beneficiaries and claimants. To ensure schemes have access to liquidity, member states would have to establish safeguards but could determine their form and scale. The use of ex post levies as safeguards would require an assessment of market conditions. Hybrid funding models would need sufficient ex ante funding or operational buffers, with levels set nationally rather than through uniform EU targets. The advice leaves the role of IGS in resolution funding open, given the ongoing implementation of the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive. It nevertheless calls for formal cooperation arrangements between schemes and national resolution authorities as a minimum requirement. Further work is needed to develop and refine the Commission’s legislative proposal.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published findings from a multi-firm review of how firms are using, testing and preparing for frontier AI models with cyber capabilities. The review finds that frontier AI is accelerating vulnerability discovery faster than some firms can validate, prioritise and remediate findings, increasing pressure on governance, engineering capacity and change processes. It also shows that organisational readiness and the environment in which models operate, including controls, tooling, system context and human oversight, are as important as the capability of the models themselves. The publication sets out observations from firms and does not introduce new rules, guidance or regulatory expectations. Early deployments are exposing where firms may struggle to absorb higher volumes of findings, including constraints in validation, remediation ownership, patch testing and emergency change processes. Firms reported that human expertise remains critical to distinguish technically plausible outputs from genuinely exploitable vulnerabilities and to make risk-based decisions. Frontier AI is also challenging traditional prioritisation approaches because models can combine lower-rated weaknesses into viable attack paths, prompting greater emphasis on exploitability, business service impact, compensating controls and system dependencies rather than severity ratings in isolation. The review further highlights how frontier AI can expose weaknesses in firms’ broader cyber and operational resilience arrangements, including asset and dependency mapping, access controls, risk ownership and remediation capacity. Supplier preparedness, cloud dependencies and software supply chains are also becoming more prominent as vulnerabilities may require coordinated action across firms and third parties. Firms should therefore assess whether their governance and escalation routes, vulnerability management processes and resilience foundations can cope with faster discovery and remediation while continuing to support important business services.

The European Central Bank announced that the Eurosystem will proceed with the planned November 2026 TARGET Services releases for T2, T2S, TIPS and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System, while shifting deployment from 14 November to 28 November 2026. The decision follows its reassessment of the release timetable after SWIFT delayed Standards Release 2026 in response to industry requests for more time to prepare for the removal of unstructured postal addresses. Maintaining the planned release scope requires changes by all stakeholders, prompting the two-week delay. Participants connecting through application-to-application communication based on ISO 20022 messages should continue preparations, with user testing due to start on 9 October 2026. To support cross-border payment processing during the transition, T2 will temporarily continue to allow fully unstructured postal addresses in RTGS messages for a limited period. T2 participants are expected to continue implementing structured or hybrid postal addresses while remaining operationally able to receive unstructured addresses while the temporary measure is available.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), Malta Police Force and Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services have launched scamalert.mt, a national platform providing individuals and businesses with information, alerts and practical guidance to help them recognise, avoid and report financial scams. The platform combines the institutions’ expertise in financial regulation, law enforcement and consumer protection and directs users to the appropriate authority when suspected fraud needs to be reported. Scamalert.mt covers threats including investment and crypto fraud, clone firms, impersonation, romance scams, smishing and spoofing. It provides information on warning signs and steps users can take when they encounter suspected scams. The platform is not itself a reporting mechanism, with the Malta Financial Services Authority providing information and warnings on financial and investment-related scams, the Malta Police Force providing guidance on suspected criminal fraud, and the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services contributing a consumer and financial services disputes perspective.

The Swiss Federal Council appointed Christoph Ammann as president of the Swiss National Bank’s Bank Council from May 1, 2027, for the remainder of the 2024-2028 term. He will succeed Barbara Janom Steiner, who will step down at the end of April 2027 after reaching the statutory maximum term of office. Ammann has served on the Bank Council since 2019 and is currently its vice president. The Federal Council also elected Marc Mächler to the council in Janom Steiner’s place and appointed him vice president for the remainder of the term. The 11-member Bank Council oversees the SNB’s conduct of business, including compliance with legislation, regulations and directives.

Argentina's National Securities Commission has comprehensively overhauled the regulatory regime for credit rating agencies, narrowing its scope to public credit risk ratings while simplifying requirements and aligning the framework with the Productive Financing Law, the repeal of Decree 1023/2013 and IOSCO standards. The reform reduces the regime from 48 to 27 sections and from 164 to 81 articles, eliminates annexes and reorganizes the rules into common and category specific provisions. It also allows agencies to conduct unregulated complementary activities, including private ratings, noncredit risk ratings and sustainability opinions, without prior CNV authorization where they do not create conflicts of interest. The changes remove advance notification of rating council meetings and CNV participation in those meetings, replace the requirement for four rating reports a year with continuous monitoring and at least one annual rating, and eliminate the separate press release requirement for ratings. Rating methodologies no longer require registration or approval, but must be filed with the CNV and published before use, while agencies may determine their own rating scales and categories. The framework also permits outsourcing of specified nonessential functions subject to safeguards, allows rating agreements to take any legally valid form, removes the maximum fee regime and related reporting requirements, and expands disclosure on collaboration agreements with foreign entities and their involvement in the rating process.

Peru's Securities Market Superintendence amended its rules for primary public offerings and sales of securities, consolidating registration requirements for general and advance procedures within the regulation and simplifying several filing and approval steps. The framework covers shares, short term instruments, bonds and other securities, with changes aimed at reducing processing time and compliance costs and facilitating access for existing and new issuers. Key changes allow issuers to incorporate by reference documents and information previously filed with the SMV where they remain valid and current. The amendments also clarify the distinction between fundamental and nonfundamental changes to an offer or issuance program, with nonfundamental changes subject to automatic approval. A framework prospectus consolidating updates after three years of an issuance program is also registered automatically, although no new offers may be made if the issuer fails to submit the required consolidated prospectus. The SMV also revised the criteria for Qualified Entity status, including requirements relating to the period for which securities have been registered, recent final sanctions and, where applicable, risk ratings associated with insufficient information.

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has enabled payment service providers to open central bank accounts and directly access the Qatar Real-Time Gross Settlement System (QA-RTGS). Direct participation allows providers to conduct settlement operations, including settling merchants’ dues, without an intermediary. SADAD Payment Solutions and Dibsy are the first providers to join the system. The change is intended to reduce operational costs for providers and merchants, shorten the payment cycle and accelerate transactions by reducing the number of parties involved. It also gives the central bank direct oversight of settlement operations. Additional payment service providers may join QA-RTGS subject to applicable requirements and procedures.

Three African central banks have announced senior leadership changes. Mohand Bourai has taken office as Governor of the Bank of Algeria following his appointment by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. In Mozambique, President Daniel Francisco Chapo appointed Felisberto Dinis Navalha as Governor of the Bank of Mozambique and Benedita Maria Guimino as Vice Governor. At the Central Bank of Seychelles, Governor Caroline Abel has resigned, with her departure taking effect on September 16, 2026. Pending the appointment of a new governor, First Deputy Governor Brian Commettant will assume responsibility for the central bank's management and operations as chief executive officer. Abel has served as governor since March 2012, while Bourai previously served as director general of Algeria's Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Central Bank of Madagascar has launched a public consultation on a draft national green taxonomy that would provide banks, companies, government bodies, regulators and investors with common criteria for identifying environmentally sustainable economic activities. The framework is intended to direct financing toward Madagascar’s environmental and climate objectives while reducing the risk that funding is inaccurately presented as green. The draft covers more than 100 activities across energy, transport, agriculture and forestry, fisheries and the blue economy, water and waste, construction and industry. Activities are assessed against six objectives spanning climate mitigation and adaptation, water and marine resources, the circular economy, pollution prevention, and biodiversity and ecosystems. The framework also requires activities to cause no significant harm to other objectives and meet minimum social safeguards. The Finance Ministry, Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry and central bank developed the proposal with technical support from the International Finance Corporation and Climate & Company, following technical discussions with more than 100 national experts in June 2026. The consultation focuses on unresolved design and implementation issues, including activity coverage and technical thresholds, evidence requirements, proportionality, treatment of transition activities and exclusions, and the practical application of the taxonomy by financial institutions and other users. The draft provides for graduated requirements based on the size, complexity and risk of institutions and transactions, alongside a progressive approach to data, reporting and verification. It also seeks views on reporting capacity and on safeguards for instruments presented publicly as green or sustainable, including the potential role and timing of independent verification. A pilot program with several financial institutions is running alongside the consultation. The final taxonomy is scheduled for publication in November 2026 after the draft is revised in light of consultation and pilot findings.

INTERPOL convened police chiefs from across the Middle East and North Africa to strengthen coordination against transnational organized crime and emerging security threats. Discussions centered on adopting the new INTERPOL Operational Task Force Model to support faster, more integrated action against criminal networks, including those involved in money laundering, illicit finance, drug trafficking, human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Delegates also reviewed cyber threats such as ransomware, crime-as-a-service, phishing, malware and online scams. The meeting highlighted the recent Operation Ramz, a 13-country cyber operation that resulted in 201 arrests, identified 382 additional suspects and distributed nearly 8,000 pieces of data and intelligence. Member countries concluded the meeting by proposing regional joint operations for 2027 against priority crime threats.

The Saudi Arabia Insurance Authority has signed a cooperation agreement with HUMAIN, a Public Investment Fund company, to support the adoption of artificial intelligence and cognitive data centers across the insurance sector. The parties will explore HUMAIN’s computing capabilities, products and technology ecosystem for priority insurance use cases. The collaboration will seek to enable secure access to insurance sector data and HUMAIN’s AI products and services. It will also support development of a sector-wide data and AI strategy focused on data quality, advanced analytics, secure data sharing, digital governance and data protection.

The Bank of Mauritius has launched BOMStats, a statistical data platform designed to expand access to its official statistics and make data easier to find, understand and use. The platform provides streamlined access to official data, self-service analytics, API functionality and structured, interoperable data sharing. The launch makes the Bank of Mauritius the first central bank in Africa to deploy Open Data Platform 2.0 technology, which supports statistical data dissemination in SDMX format. BOMStats was developed by a cross-departmental team at the Bank with support from the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund's Statistics Department.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to rescind its pay-to-play rule for investment advisers, which bars advisers from providing compensated advisory services to a government client for two years after certain political contributions by the adviser or covered associates. The proposal would also remove the related Advisers Act recordkeeping requirements. Existing antifraud, fiduciary duty, compliance and code of ethics requirements would remain in force, with the SEC taking the view that these and other federal, state and local requirements provide a sufficient framework to address genuine pay-to-play misconduct. The SEC based the proposal on its experience administering the rule since 2010, citing operational complexity, a de facto strict liability effect and consequences that can be disproportionate to the conduct involved. Small or inadvertent contributions can trigger substantial restrictions, while the rule can constrain the hiring or promotion of covered associates, affect government entities' choice of advisers and require difficult judgments about which officials and employees fall within its scope. The Commission also pointed to firms imposing blanket restrictions on employee political contributions as a practical response to the rule's complexity. The commissioner statements included with the release broadly support rescission rather than reveal a split over the proposal. Commissioner Hester M. Peirce emphasized the rule's effect on political speech and favored eliminating it rather than narrowing it, while also raising whether similar political contribution restrictions administered by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, FINRA and under the securities-based swap dealer regime should be reconsidered, and whether advisers might retain internal contribution bans after rescission. Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda similarly supported repeal, arguing that enforcement under the rule rarely demonstrated actual quid pro quo arrangements and that existing Advisers Act antifraud, fiduciary, compliance and ethics obligations can address genuine misconduct through a more principles-based framework.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Türkiye-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi and two subsidiaries under Executive Order 13902, targeting their role in Iran’s financial sector. Treasury said Golden Global Bank facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and provided correspondent banking access that enabled the Iranian regime to move funds internationally. The action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, following Treasury’s earlier move against Banque Misr UAE over its alleged role in Iranian shadow banking networks. Treasury said Golden Global Bank was established to help transfer Iranian oil revenues from China to Türkiye for conversion into cash and gold and knowingly offered correspondent banking services to Iranian financial institutions, including transactions through accounts controlled by the IRGC-QF and its proxies. The designations block property and interests in property of the designated entities that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons, extend to entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons and generally prohibit U.S.-linked transactions involving blocked property. Foreign financial institutions engaging in certain significant transactions involving designated persons may also face secondary sanctions, including restrictions on U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts.

The Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and New York released FAQs providing further detail on their forthcoming pilot survey of the U.S. private credit direct lending market. The survey will examine credit availability and provision, lending standards and credit quality, with the aim of improving understanding of implications for the broader economy. It is not intended to identify risks at private lenders or support Federal Reserve supervisory or regulatory activities. The survey is expected to launch after the end of the third quarter of 2026, with aggregate findings anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. Participation will be voluntary. The survey will collect baseline information on assets under management dedicated to private credit direct lending and the value of new loan and refinancing commitments, while asking mainly qualitative questions on changes in credit standards and loan terms, drivers of those changes, portfolio company outlooks and borrower demand. Responses will be differentiated where appropriate across borrowers with annual EBITDA below USD 30 million, between USD 30 million and USD 100 million, and above USD 100 million. Firm identities and individual responses will remain confidential, results will be published only in aggregate, and micro data and firm-specific responses will not be shared with Federal Reserve Supervision or other regulatory agencies. Following publication of the pilot results, the two Federal Reserve Banks expect to launch a quarterly survey collecting similar data over time.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), together with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), clarified that Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) confidentiality requirements do not prevent banks and credit unions from communicating with customers about potentially fraudulent or other suspicious activity, or from notifying them of an intended account closure, provided the communication does not reveal the existence of a SAR. Institutions may discuss the underlying facts, transactions and documents on which a SAR is based, including relevant transaction details, even where those facts could allow a knowledgeable person to suspect that a SAR may have been filed. Permissible communications may include seeking information needed to understand transactions or customer relationships, explaining that account restrictions, rejected deposits or closures relate to suspected fraud or suspicious activity, and providing fraud warnings or information on available mitigation steps. Institutions should assess such communications case by case and take precautions where information could reveal the existence of a SAR.

Republicans on the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services introduced the Consumer Financial Protection Accountability and Reform Act of 2026, advancing reforms first set out in the committee’s July discussion draft. The package would place the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under the regular congressional appropriations process, establish a dedicated Inspector General and strengthen rulemaking requirements through cost-benefit analysis covering effects on small businesses, competition, credit access and innovation, alongside periodic reviews of major rules. The bill would also clarify the CFPB’s statutory authority, strengthen due process and establish more predictable supervision and enforcement standards. It would confirm that agency guidance is not legally binding, reduce duplicative examinations and limit federal supervision of innovative firms to cases warranted by demonstrated consumer risk. Enforcement reforms would promote proportionate penalties and provide incentives for firms that self-report and remediate problems, reflecting the committee’s broader effort to make CFPB oversight more risk-based and less reliant on enforcement to establish regulatory expectations.