The US Securities and Exchange Commission fined Zoe Financial USD 450,000 for inadequate disclosures about conflicts in its adviser referral service. The firm had incentives to direct clients to advisers using its Zoe Wealth platform, while salespeople frequently recommended advisers outside its algorithm’s results. Zoe Financial also accepted a censure and cease-and-desist order without admitting the findings.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Finance convened Arab finance leaders to discuss fiscal conditions, macroeconomic resilience, AI, sustainable finance and international tax standards. The UAE outlined plans to move 50% of federal operations and services to Agentic AI models within two years and reiterated its application of the domestic minimum top-up tax from 2025.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea and the International Finance Corporation reviewed a draft revision of the country’s leasing law with stakeholders. The reform would clarify the framework, correct identified shortcomings and improve legal certainty while supporting small and medium-sized enterprises’ access to equipment and productive investment.

The Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission has issued guidelines for offering, marketing and distributing foreign funds in Ghana. Schedule 1 identifies the eligible fund types, and the guidelines apply alongside other applicable laws.

The National Bank of Moldova has published a draft approach for assessing risks across client groups and financial services using probability and impact ratings. It also addresses false positives arising from payment screening against lists of designated persons.

National Bank of Moldova First Deputy Governor Petru Rotaru said a stronger capital market should complement bank lending by expanding long-term funding and investment options. He linked the Moldova International Stock Exchange’s potential to modern financial infrastructure, gradual capital-flow liberalization, listing-ready issuers and predictable regulation.

In a National Bank of Moldova podcast, Governor Anca Dragu said the European Banking Authority equivalence assessment is about two-thirds complete and SEPA has saved users nearly EUR 15 million over 11 months. She cited capital and liquidity well above regulatory requirements as evidence that banks can support investment. Investment Agency Director Natalia Bejan said EU integration expands market access and lowers barriers, though investment decisions remain sector-specific.

The Financial Conduct Authority has secured confiscation orders totaling GBP 851,402.27 against two men convicted over a crypto investment fraud that cost at least 65 investors GBP 1,541,799. Recovered funds will be returned to victims, while failure to pay within three months could result in additional prison terms.

The Jamaica Financial Services Commission directed regulated entities to assess their exposure and strengthen controls under Jamaica’s DPRK sanctions regime. Firms should screen relevant parties, monitor transactions, restrict potential freezable assets, obtain required authorizations and maintain evidence of decisions. Boards and senior management are expected to oversee sanctions risks, control testing and remediation.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association is developing a proof of concept for exchanging tokenized collateral under its documentation, including potential updates to credit support documents and legal opinions. The work is intended to enable continuous margin movement for 24/7 trading, but requires regulatory and legal clarity on custody, capital treatment and cross-border recognition.

The Bank for International Settlements finds that the leverage ratio and output floor perform distinct, complementary roles in the Basel III capital framework. The leverage ratio bound more than 55% of 29 global systemically important banks at end 2025, while a fully phased in 72.5% output floor would bind six of the 13 banks disclosing relevant data. For three of those banks, the leverage ratio would not replicate the output floor’s constraint.