The National Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan published the results of its 21 May 2026 foreign exchange intervention purchase auction, which attracted seven participants. Satisfied applications ranged from USD 500,000 to USD 7.25 million at a weighted average rate of 9.3048 USD/TJS.
The Payment Systems Regulator is consulting on a targeted regulatory financial reporting remedy requiring Mastercard and Visa to report disaggregated profit and loss data on their UK card operations, including contextual information, to support supervision of scheme and processing fees. The proposal follows the PSR’s market review, which found rising fees, limited competition and higher-than-expected profit margins, and sits alongside forthcoming final decisions on information, transparency and complexity, and pricing governance remedies.
The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency’s April 2026 report shows broad asset growth across pension funds, UCITS and insurance, alongside a sharp decline in Zagreb Stock Exchange trading volumes. Mandatory pension funds’ net assets rose 2.8% month on month to EUR 27.7bn, voluntary pension funds’ assets increased 2.9% to EUR 1.73bn, UCITS assets grew 2.2% to EUR 4.2bn, and insurance premiums for the first four months of 2026 rose 7.4% year on year to EUR 715.2m. Zagreb Stock Exchange turnover fell 51.2% from March to EUR 50.4m while market capitalisation increased 5.1% to EUR 57.9bn.
The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency held its annual training for issuers of securities listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, co-organised with the Central Depository and Clearing Company and the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The event focused on regulatory developments affecting issuers, potential amendments to the Zagreb Stock Exchange Rules following changes to the Capital Market Act, and practical updates on issuer activities and general meeting processes.
The Bank of Ghana Governor told the ACI FMA World Congress 2026 that recent macroeconomic stabilisation, including lower inflation, higher reserves and reduced policy rates, is enabling deeper financial market development. He outlined priorities on interoperable digital payments infrastructure, cross-border and wholesale e-Cedi use cases, and implementation of the 2025 Virtual Asset Service Providers Act with stronger fintech oversight and cybersecurity. He also highlighted work with regional partners on fintech licence passporting and harmonised payment rails to support a more connected African financial market.
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets is reviewing under what conditions automatic rebalancing and automatic risk reduction, including life-cycle investing, can be offered within execution-only investment services. It will update its 2016 Guidance on the qualification of innovative services to reflect current execution-only developments, emphasising responsible innovation within legal limits, customer interests and alignment with the European landscape.
In a keynote at the AFME Sustainability Conference in Amsterdam, Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets chair Laura van Geest said sustainability is shifting from a long-term ambition to an immediate economic necessity, citing energy security, costs and competitiveness. She called for continued financing of the transition despite its complexity and uncertainty.
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets’ “Pensions sector at a glance 2026” report notes that although most members in defined contribution contracts can choose their own investments, few do so, especially younger members, and that the effects of the new pension system are only marginally visible in current data. The report introduces complaint statistics, recording 23,000 complaints in 2024, mainly about pension calculation and payment, pension funds’ financial position and member information, and stresses that all qualifying expressions must be registered and handled as formal complaints.
The Central Bank of Iraq’s Nineveh branch reported the completion of Financial Inclusion Week activities held from 27 April to 5 May 2026 across the governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salah al-Din. Banks and electronic payment companies participated in outreach events to promote financial inclusion, support economic stability and integrate different segments of society into the financial system.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Futures Association signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for cooperation and information sharing on areas of common regulatory interest. The non-binding arrangement covers SEC-regulated entities, NFA members and jointly regulated firms, and allows staff to share non-public examination information, risk assessments and market analyses, subject to confidentiality safeguards, while preserving each authority’s independent supervisory and enforcement powers.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission completed the fifth cycle of its school financial literacy lectures, delivering 18 sessions between March and May 2026 and reaching 3,450 students across all education levels. Conducted under Global Money Week 2026, the age-tailored lectures focused on personal finance, online scams, financial fraud and misleading investment promotions, emphasizing personal financial independence and a new Investor Guide under Cyprus’s National Strategy for Financial Literacy and Financial Education.
The Vietnam State Securities Commission has required 14 named individuals to pay a fee of VND 1,000,000 each for the issuance of a securities practice certificate under Ministry of Finance Circular 25/2022/TT-BTC. Payment may be made by bank transfer or directly to the commission, and failure to complete the procedure to receive the certificate within one year of the fee payment notice will result in cancellation of the certificate.
The Central Bank of Brunei Darussalam has amended its Guidelines on the FinTech Regulatory Sandbox to expand eligibility to qualified financial institutions alongside FinTech companies, broadening the sandbox’s scope as a controlled testing environment. The amendments refine suitability criteria for sandbox testing and update the application form, while maintaining safeguards and regulatory oversight to protect consumers, preserve market stability and support industry collaboration.
Federal Reserve Board staff introduced the Continuous Securities Long-Term dataset, a public source providing continuous monthly measures of U.S. cross-border securities holdings, transactions, and valuation changes from 1985 to the present, replacing stitched historical estimates. The dataset consolidates estimation approaches across three periods, incorporates aggregate and country-level foreign holdings of short-term U.S. Treasuries from the BL2 form, and notes limits in country, date, and security-level coverage due to confidentiality and other factors.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is consulting on targeted amendments to Guideline B-12 to update interest rate shock scenarios for interest rate risk in the banking book, aligning them with recent Basel Committee revisions and market experience. The recalibration extends the calibration period to December 2023 and adopts the Basel Committee’s methodology for low-rate environments, which OSFI links to more accurate risk information and greater consistency across institutions. OSFI is consulting on these changes alongside proposed amendments to Pillar 3 disclosure expectations.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has launched a public consultation on draft revisions to its large exposure limits framework for small and medium sized banks. The proposal would extend the 2019 large exposure approach to Category 1 and Category 2 SMSBs, including a 25% of Tier 1 capital cap per counterparty or connected group, updated connected counterparty identification, netting of exposures in line with capital rules, and quarterly reporting, while removing Category 3 SMSBs from the guideline’s scope.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has launched a consultation on targeted revisions to its Capital and Liquidity Treatment of Crypto-asset Exposures (Banking) Guideline. The main proposal would permit banks to recognize cross-exchange hedging for Group 2a crypto-assets traded on regulated exchanges when calculating capital requirements, while leaving risk weights and collateral eligibility unchanged. OSFI said the change reflects market developments and aims to better align capital and liquidity treatment with underlying risk, within a framework based on Basel Committee standards adapted for Canada.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions published a draft prudential package covering liquidity, capital, concentration and interest rate risk, and revised its intervention guidance for federally regulated deposit-taking institutions, to sharpen oversight of credit, liquidity and governance risks and clarify requirements. Proposals include new Liquidity Adequacy Requirements and Internal Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process Guidelines, updated capital and liquidity treatment and public disclosure of crypto-asset exposures, modernised large exposure limits for smaller banks, and amended interest rate risk disclosure and shock methodologies. OSFI also updated its Guide to Intervention to reflect its expanded mandate on integrity and security and has begun analytical work on the appropriateness of insurance risk factors.
The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic reported that Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel is paying an official visit, including a bilateral meeting with National Bank Chairman Almaz Baketaev. The two central banks reaffirmed plans to strengthen cooperation on capacity development, including gold and foreign exchange reserve management, and confirmed their interest in continuing close bilateral engagement.
The Brazil Securities Commission (CVM) board rejected proposed settlement agreements in two administrative sanctioning proceedings involving All Bank Invest Investimentos e Serviços Ltda. and its managers, and Evandro Luiz de Sousa Jackson. In both cases, the CVM cited the seriousness of the alleged misconduct and the absence of adequate proposals to compensate diffuse damages or fully redress investor losses, with the Jackson case also classified in Group V of Annex A to CVM Resolution 45.
The Bank for International Settlements published a working paper analysing how access to on-demand money via overdrafts and credit lines affects firms in production networks. It finds that firms in longer, more complex supply chains hold larger undrawn credit lines, experience sharper sales and output declines when financial conditions tighten, and transmit shocks along supply chains, with production-network spillovers accounting for about two-thirds of the total output effect.
The Thailand Office of Insurance Commission reported a courtesy visit by Japan’s Financial Services Agency, where both authorities reaffirmed cooperation and knowledge exchange on insurance supervision. Discussions covered natural disaster preparedness, including a national catastrophe risk management mechanism, enhancements to the Risk-Based Capital framework, potential use of parametric insurance and catastrophe bonds, and life and health insurance responses to declining birth rates, an ageing society, rising medical costs and technology to improve system efficiency.
At the launch of Liberia’s National Economic Student Hub, Central Bank of Liberia Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi said youth participation in economic policy and problem-solving is a national necessity. He also pointed to ongoing central bank reforms on payment systems, digital financial services, financial literacy and access to finance for young entrepreneurs.
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway and the Norwegian Data Protection Authority published the fifth report from their joint regulatory sandboxes on data sharing to combat economic crime, concluding that banks cannot replace mandatory suspicious transaction reporting with customer guidance for smaller and medium-sized tax-related irregularities, which prevented the planned sandbox pilot from proceeding. Dialogue with the Financial Intelligence Unit at Økokrim and the Norwegian Tax Administration found no basis for alternative reporting thresholds or a separate reporting channel for serious tax matters. The report recommends, within existing law, more standardised materiality assessments, improved tagging and metadata in suspicious transaction reports, more targeted customer information in high-risk situations, and quality measures beyond report volumes.
Angola’s Ministry of Finance stressed that price stability depends on institutional quality, regulatory predictability and coordination across state bodies, not only on monetary and fiscal tools, linking it to cost of living, business planning and policy effectiveness. The remarks highlighted that unpredictable regulation, weak coordination and fragmented institutional action can destabilise markets and raise costs, and underscored competition as a public good tied to consumer protection and confidence.
The Bank of the Republic of Burundi, with support from the World Bank’s PRETE project, held a workshop on a draft decree to amend the framework for movable security interests and establish operating rules for a fully electronic National Register of Movable Security Interests. The proposed register would receive and store notices, enable public searches, manage creditor priority, and provide secure data archiving, with the Bank acting as administrative authority responsible for technical and operational management, platform availability, data protection, maintenance, and statistics.
The Bank of the Republic of Burundi issued a communiqué responding to the conclusions of the International Monetary Fund mission conducted under Article IV. The communiqué addresses the findings and assessments set out in the mission’s report.
Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said the bank is modernising its monetary policy modelling framework, including a broad update of its main model NEMO to better capture abrupt economic shifts, international supply shocks and household cash-flow channels. She noted that earlier models underestimated the inflation impact of pandemic-related supply shocks and highlighted new research showing that unexpected interest rate increases gradually reduce inflation and dampen consumption, especially for highly indebted households.
Payments Canada, in its response to the Department of Finance consultation on a National Anti-Fraud Strategy, supports a coordinated framework across financial institutions, telecom providers and digital platforms, and calls for proportionate, consistent anti-fraud requirements for all payment participants, including non-federally regulated entities. It links its recommendations to the rollout of the Real-Time Rail and ISO 20022, highlighting the need for standardized real-time fraud controls, enhanced cross-sector information sharing under clear data governance, and a coordinated oversight model with aligned regulators and safeguarded law enforcement access to ecosystem insights.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has appealed a Federal Court judgment dismissing its case against Nuix Limited over alleged continuous disclosure breaches and misleading market statements about financial performance. ASIC argues the primary judge erred in rejecting these allegations but is not appealing findings on alleged directors’ duties breaches. The case centred partly on Nuix’s forecast annualised contract value growth, a non-statutory metric ASIC says is relevant to investors’ assessment of underlying revenue growth and earnings potential.
The Montenegro Capital Market Authority reported on a meeting between its president and the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs on strengthening cooperation in financial literacy and investor education. Discussions covered the authority’s Financial Education Development Programme 2023–2027, youth-focused tools and workshops, alignment with international standards, and potential participation in wider OECD regional networks and projects.
The National Bank of Moldova published aggregated April 2026 data on licensed banks’ foreign currency assets, liabilities and open foreign exchange positions, showing a broadly matched system-wide balance of MDL 55.29 billion in assets and MDL 55.25 billion in liabilities. Foreign currency loans, cash and placements, and required reserves were the main assets, and clients’ current accounts and term deposits the main liabilities. Reported open positions were MDL 229.15 million long and MDL 195.06 million short, with the largest long exposure in EUR, the largest short exposure in USD, and total regulatory capital at MDL 23.69 billion.
The Saudi Arabia Capital Markets Authority reported that the Appeal Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes imposed about SAR 18 million in sanctions and employment bans on 11 former board and audit committee members of Middle East Healthcare Company (Saudi German Health) for manipulating financial statements between 2018 and 2021. The committee found they improperly recognized SAR 358,044,138 in revenue, overstating assets and revenues and creating a false impression of the company’s book value. Affected investors may seek compensation through the Committee for Resolution of Securities Disputes after filing a complaint with the CMA.
The Luxembourg Ministry of Finance announced that Finance Minister Gilles Roth and Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter signed an agreement in Bern to establish a structured bilateral dialogue on financial matters between the Luxembourg and Swiss financial centres. During the mission with Luxembourg for Finance, Roth also met senior Swiss financial executives on their activities in Luxembourg, discussed geoeconomic developments, and signed a letter of intent with the University of St Gallen to support an MBA programme and a St Gallen presence in Luxembourg.
The Central Bank of Taiwan reported that the weighted average interest rate on newly extended loans by the five major domestic banks increased by 0.101 percentage points in April 2026 to 2.206% from 2.105% in March, driven by higher rates across all loan categories, especially current operation loans. The rate excluding Treasury borrowings was also 2.206%, up 0.064 percentage points from 2.142%, as no Treasury borrowings were undertaken in April.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India reported that the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen is conducting an orientation programme to strengthen institutional capacity, improve consistency in grievance redressal and address emerging issues. Senior officials urged more empathetic, policyholder-centric handling of complaints, greater use of digital tools and attention to operational gaps such as mis-selling, delays and low awareness of redressal channels. IRDAI noted that in 2025-26 Insurance Ombudsmen decided 41,055 grievances, with 79% resolved in favour of policyholders.
At the European Supervisor Education Initiative Conference, Czech National Bank board member Jan Kubíček outlined the CNB’s shift from AI testing to deployment under an AI and Data Science programme to streamline routine work under strong governance and data protection. The CNB uses generative AI and specialist models to process regulatory documentation, support licensing including MiCA crypto-asset applications, handle complaints and inquiries, monitor financial influencers, and enhance economic analysis. Kubíček said supervised institutions must maintain robust governance, understand their models, and ensure outcomes are explainable, fair and aligned with regulatory expectations.
The Astana Financial Services Authority’s 2025 Annual Report highlights strong growth in Astana International Financial Centre participants, with 1,467 new companies and a total of 4,954 from 91 countries. AFSA reports expansion in digital assets, investment funds and capital markets, including USD 10.58 billion in digital asset transactions, over USD 5.4 billion in assets under management and Astana International Exchange market capitalisation of USD 81.5 billion. The report also notes AFSA’s accession to IOSCO’s International Securities and Commodities Alerts Network to enhance information sharing against online investment fraud and illegal financial activity.
South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Inter-American Development Bank held their annual consultation on bilateral cooperation, focusing on operationalising the new AI Hub and broader support for Korean firms entering Latin America. They highlighted complementary demand and capabilities in artificial intelligence, digital and energy sectors, discussed deeper cooperation on AI projects, trust funds, co-financing, private investment and critical minerals, and agreed to work toward the Korea-Latin America Business Forum in Buenos Aires to advance Korean AI companies’ regional expansion.
The Prudential Regulation Authority has issued final rules for insurance third-country branches, raising the Financial Services Compensation Scheme subsidiarisation threshold to GBP 600 million and replacing branch reporting waivers with quantitative reporting thresholds. It will discontinue quarterly reporting, move larger branches (at least GBP 1 billion in gross written premiums or GBP 2 billion in branch provisions) to the full reporting suite, and require smaller branches to resume two annual non-life claims templates. The PRA also embeds relief for pure reinsurance branches from branch investment rules, clarifies Own Risk and Solvency Assessment and resolution report expectations, restates selected European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority branch guidelines, and grants resolution report relief for branches writing only non-UK risks.
The South Korea Financial Services Commission reviewed first-year progress under the Lee Jae Myung administration’s financial agenda, highlighting a shift from real estate toward capital markets and strategic industries, expanded support for vulnerable borrowers and small businesses, and stronger household debt and market risk management. Measures include stricter capital market rules, deployment of the KRW150 trillion National Growth Fund, capital rule changes to free KRW1.242 quadrillion for productive sectors, lower-cost policy microloans, delinquent debt purchases and write-offs, and tougher action against illegal lending and vishing. Next steps include a KRW10 trillion small business support program, an AI-based Small Business & Self-ownership Credit Bureau, expanded retail access to National Growth Fund investments, and a youth savings program.
The Ministry of Finance (Estonia) announced government approval of legislative amendments that set clear, auditable rules for requesting bank data via the enforcement register for tax fraud and anti-money laundering purposes. The bill clarifies when and what bank data the Tax and Customs Board and the Financial Intelligence Unit may request, mandates justification and logging of each request, and requires post-fact notification in certain cases, without granting new powers over bank secrecy.
De Nederlandsche Bank reported that Dutch households’ securities holdings rose by EUR 3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026 to EUR 207.6 billion, driven by net purchases and exchange-rate gains despite market volatility. Households increased direct bond holdings by 22% to EUR 6.2 billion, mainly in government bonds, and saw the value of shareholdings in six large listed oil companies rise to EUR 5.3 billion, although they sold a net EUR 677 million of those shares, with more than 90% of exposures in Shell.
The National Bank of Georgia and Caucasus International University presented a short documentary series, “The Adventure of Georgian Money 30 Stories”, marking the 30th anniversary of the lari and tracing 26 centuries of Georgian monetary history. The films chronologically document the development of Georgia’s monetary and credit system, currency issuance and circulation, numismatic heritage and financial institutions, and aim to support financial education and public awareness.
The French Financial Markets Authority has published a sanctions committee decision dated 20 May 2026 in an insider dealing case concerning Ytane Mamou and Elie Houri. The decision relates specifically to alleged insider dealing activities by these individuals.
The French Financial Markets Authority’s Sanctions Committee fined Ytane Mamou and his cousin Elie Houri a total of EUR 50,000 for insider dealing related to a takeover of a listed company. The committee found that Mamou used inside information to buy shares for himself and family members and recommended the investment to Houri, who also bought shares, and based its decision on trading patterns, timing, information transmission channels and the parties’ statements.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions has issued a consultation on intraday equity market liquidity and a report on extended trading hours. IOSCO proposes good practices for regulators and venues on monitoring liquidity shifts to the close, strengthening operational resilience and surveillance, and calibrating volatility controls. It finds extended hours trading remains uneven, venue-led and typically retail-driven, with lower liquidity and wider spreads than core sessions. Feedback will inform IOSCO’s potential future work, including on asset management, valuations, risk management and derivatives.
The Central Bank of the Philippines is urging businesses to promote Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) programs as voluntary retirement savings that supplement the Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System. It highlighted tax-exempt treatment for PERA investments, annual contribution limits of PHP 200,000 for locally employed and self-employed individuals and PHP 400,000 for overseas Filipinos, and a 150 percent tax deduction for private employers that match or exceed employees’ PERA contributions. The central bank cited East West Banking Corporation’s April 2026 launch of the first voluntary employer-sponsored PERA program by a universal bank and called on other banks and corporations to adopt similar schemes to broaden the investor base and deepen the capital market.
The European Central Bank published research analysing how different AI architectures may affect financial stability using a stylised mutual fund redemption game. Q-learning systems tend to coordinate on bank run-like mass redemptions due to a “hot stove” effect, while large language models generate more heterogeneous, less predictable decisions. Noisy private signals align beliefs but do not materially alter Q-learning behaviour. The authors highlight implications for investor protection, firms’ risk management and market design, and stress that the views expressed do not necessarily represent the ECB, Deutsche Bundesbank or the Eurosystem.
The European Central Bank reported the euro area current account surplus fell to EUR 15 billion in March 2026 and narrowed to EUR 275 billion, or 1.7% of GDP, over the 12 months to March, reflecting weaker balances across components. In the financial account, euro area residents recorded net direct investments of EUR 272 billion in non-euro area assets and net portfolio purchases of EUR 779 billion, while non-residents increased net purchases of euro area securities to EUR 981 billion, including EUR 545 billion in debt. The Eurosystem’s reserve assets declined to EUR 1,908.1 billion, mainly due to negative price changes from lower gold prices.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre has ordered Bankstown District Sports Club Ltd to appoint an external auditor under section 162 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, citing weak anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls in its gambling operations. The AUSTRAC-defined audit will assess the club’s risk-based AML/CTF program, customer risk assessments and monitoring systems, with findings to inform further compliance measures or regulatory action.
The Dubai International Financial Centre announced that TMF Group has received Dubai Financial Services Authority approval to operate in the Centre as a Fund Administrator and Corporate Service Provider. The authorization enables TMF Group to support client incorporation and operations in DIFC and provide fund administration services to local and international asset managers, reflecting continued growth in the Centre’s funds ecosystem.
The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has suspended, from 21 to 23 May 2026 inclusive, the licences of Bishkek-based exchange bureaus Nursan Pro, Adex Cash and Archa Money. The authority cites violations of Kyrgyz legislation and its regulatory requirements.
The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority has finalised enhancements to its anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, counter-proliferation financing and sanctions framework, amending the Financial Services and Markets Regulations 2015 and the Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Rulebook. The changes align the regime with recent federal law developments and evolving international standards, including Financial Action Task Force recommendations, and are expected to have minimal impact on current compliance requirements.
The State Bank of Vietnam has issued a banking sector action programme for the government’s 2026–2030 development agenda, focusing on legal reform, proactive monetary policy and coordinated fiscal policy to support growth while maintaining inflation control and macroeconomic stability. The programme prioritises overhauling monetary and banking legislation, strengthening prudential and risk management frameworks, improving forecasting and data capabilities, directing credit towards productive and priority sectors, tightening oversight of risk-prone lending, and advancing bank restructuring, supervision, digital transformation, non-cash payments and anti-money laundering.
The State Bank of Vietnam reported on banking activity in Tuyen Quang, noting outstanding lending of VND 79.256 trillion at end-2025 and VND 79.627 trillion as of 30 April 2026, with credit focused on productive and priority sectors and tighter control over high-risk lending. Regional Branch 4 implemented measures on interest rates, borrower support, digital transformation, cashless payments and market management. Participants cited challenges in credit growth, deposit mobilisation, non-performing loans and cashless expansion, while the provincial chairman urged banks to improve credit quality, contain bad debts, maintain credit to growth sectors and step up action against illegal lending, money laundering and cybercrime.
The State Bank of Vietnam reported that banking activity in Tuyen Quang remained stable, with outstanding loans reaching VND 79.627 trillion as of 30 April 2026 and credit focused on production, business and priority sectors. Authorities noted progress in digital transformation, cashless payments and management of foreign exchange, gold trading and cash circulation, while calling on banks to improve credit quality, control bad debts and combat illegal lending, money laundering and cybercrime.
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market reminded microfinance organizations that interactions with borrowers must comply with the law on microfinance activities, including fair treatment, disclosure, prevention of unfair practices and proper handling of client appeals. The reminder clarifies debt settlement procedures, including timelines for notifying borrowers of overdue payments, borrower rights to request contract changes such as interest rate reductions or restructuring, and limits on the frequency of telephone contact with clients.
The Bank of Zambia published remarks from the 2026 CAMINEX expo that highlighted Zambia's copper production growth to more than 890,000 metric tonnes in 2025 from about 825,000 metric tonnes in 2024. The speech restated government measures to support mining investment, including policy reforms, a national aerial geophysical survey, local-content rules under Statutory Instrument No. 68, and energy and value-addition investment.
The Central Bank of The Gambia’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the policy rate at 14%, the reserve requirement at 13% and the 5–15% standing facility corridor intact, saying resilient activity and a rise in headline inflation to 7.0% in April warrant a steady stance. It projects 2026 growth at 5.7%, flagged strong money and credit expansion and a wider current-account deficit, and reiterated readiness to tighten if inflation pressures intensify.
The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee left its overnight deposit, lending, main operation and discount rates unchanged at 19.00 %, 20.00 %, 19.50 % and 19.50 % respectively, judging the existing “adequately positive” real margin sufficient as April headline inflation was 14.9 % and is expected to exceed the 7 ± 2 pp target later in 2026 before moderating toward target in H2 2027. The Committee flagged exchange-rate weakness, fiscal tightening and volatile global food and energy prices as upside risks and reaffirmed a tight stance until inflation is on course for the target.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission released new research on financial technology and regtech, urging faster adoption of market technologies and endorsing a principles-based regulatory approach focused on accountability, oversight, governance and conduct. ASIC highlighted strengths in buy-now-pay-later and real-time payments but noted gaps in automated insurance claims, robo-advice and tokenisation. It linked the research to its broader innovation agenda, including work on a potential digital financial market infrastructure sandbox, improved pathways from the regulatory sandbox to licensing, and a Financial Markets Innovation roundtable.
The National Bank of Moldova’s April 2026 data show net foreign currency supply from individuals covered 80.5% of net demand from economic agents, down from 92.0% in March, prompting central bank net sales of EUR 14.1 million. Net supply from individuals rose 2.8% month-on-month to EUR 278.5 million, while net sales to legal entities increased 17.4% to EUR 345.9 million, with the January–April 2026 coverage ratio at 88.8% versus 87.1% a year earlier. EUR accounted for 73.0% of individuals’ net supply, USD 16.9% and other currencies 10.1%, as the average EUR/MDL rate edged up to 20.2124.
Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, through the Financial Intelligence Unit, has signed a collaboration agreement with the Attorney General’s Office of Michoacán to strengthen coordination on preventing, detecting and investigating illicit fund operations and related crimes. The agreement updates cooperation mechanisms for information exchange, enables mutual sharing of data and intelligence products, and provides for joint training and specialized working groups to enhance operational, technical and IT coordination and confidentiality safeguards.
The House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee has launched an inquiry into the regulation of the consumer market for home and travel insurance, including a call for evidence. The review will assess the effectiveness and enforcement of the current framework across insurance distribution, claims handling, rule enforcement and dispute resolution, and consider whether regulators or the Government should change their approach.
The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering said it held a regional mutual evaluation preparation workshop in the Philippines and conducted a preliminary preparation visit for the country ahead of its 2027 mutual evaluation. The workshop supported seven member jurisdictions due for assessment over the next two years, while the Philippines visit focused on roles, coordination and AML, CTF and CPF priorities under the Global Fifth Round process.
South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has completed 25 of 39 measures in its foreign exchange and capital market roadmap for potential MSCI developed market index inclusion, with over 70% implementation expected in the first half of the year. It finalized reforms to the Registered Foreign Institution regime to simplify registration and reporting and improve KRW operational account usability. Recent steps include Korea Securities Depository changes allowing fund-by-fund settlement under nominee structures, acceptance of Legal Entity Identifier documents for foreign corporate account opening, and removal of trading hour limits on Eurex and FTSE KOSPI futures. Ongoing projects include a 24-hour domestic FX market pilot and an offshore KRW settlement network. The ministry also reviewed amendments to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act to create a framework for monitoring cross-border virtual asset transfers by requiring virtual asset businesses to register and report transfers via the Bank of Korea’s FX system for sharing with tax, customs, supervisory and financial intelligence authorities.
South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service published its 2025 review of domestic banks’ overseas businesses, reporting continued network expansion, higher earnings and stable localization scores. Overseas assets rose 7.4% year on year to USD233.13 billion, net income increased 2.3% to USD1.651 billion and the substandard-or-below loan ratio improved to 1.36%, though asset quality remained weaker in ASEAN. Asia accounted for 67.3% of overseas operations, loans were the largest asset class at USD126.78 billion and return on assets was 0.71%.
The Indonesia Financial Services Authority reported that Regional Development Banks remained solid through March 2026 and confirmed continued implementation of the 2024-2027 Strengthening Roadmap. It highlighted asset growth to IDR 1,036.51 trillion, a capital adequacy ratio of 26.19 percent, stable asset quality, and capital strengthening via consolidation and minimum core capital rules. OJK will oversee roadmap implementation and push banks to expand lending to productive and emerging sectors, including the green economy and regional downstream industries.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has issued Edition 8 of its Systemic Issues Insights Report, outlining systemic issues and examples of stronger practice across the financial services sector in the first half of the 2025-2026 financial year. AFCA reports that more than 180,000 consumers and small businesses benefited from its systemic work, including AUD 1.9 million in financial remediation and non-financial outcomes such as credit file corrections, improved claims handling and operational reforms for vulnerable customers.
The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a meeting with entrepreneurs to review business challenges and practical proposals, focusing on expanding construction materials exports and improving financing for new product lines. Participants discussed increasing the wagon fleet and transport capacity, broadening working capital, and attracting concessional bank credit, with issues referred to relevant ministries and agencies for action.
The Dominican Republic’s Pensions Superintendency (SIPEN) outlined a pension reform option under discussion that would grant contributors with at least 15 years of contributions a guaranteed, inflation-adjusted lifetime pension as a minimum floor, while stressing that no decision has been taken. Superintendent Francisco A. Torres noted that the current 30-year contribution benchmark is rarely met due to labour informality and said authorities are also evaluating allowing those below 15 years to buy additional contribution periods.
The France Autorité des marchés financiers has clarified on its GECO database that alternative investment funds may be marketed in France only to professional investors. It notes that European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIF), European Venture Capital Funds (EuVECA) and European Social Entrepreneurship Funds (EuSEF) may also be marketed to other investors, subject to the conditions in their respective regulations.
The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority announced that Chief Executive Samantha Barrass will not seek reappointment when her five-year term ends in January 2027, citing emerging family needs in the UK. The board will begin recruiting a successor and noted that Barrass will remain in post to support a smooth transition after overseeing implementation of the Conduct of Financial Institutions regime and preparations for the authority’s new credit regulation role.
The Brazilian Pension Funds Authority (PREVIC) has signed a cooperation agreement with Associação Soluções Inclusivas Sustentáveis to deliver a technical course on integrating environmental, social and governance criteria into investments, to strengthen supervision in the closed supplementary pension sector and application of PREVIC Resolution 26/2025. The 30-hour online programme for officials from PREVIC, the Ministry of Social Security and the Ministry of Finance will cover socioenvironmental and climate risk management, ESG-related financial products, sustainability reporting and global standards including IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
The Financial Stability Board’s Regional Consultative Group for the Americas met in Grand Cayman to review global and regional financial vulnerabilities and the FSB’s 2026 work priorities. Members discussed operational resilience, including cyber risks, cross-border payments action plans, regulatory and supervisory modernisation, and nonbank activity in sovereign bond markets and related data challenges.
The National Bank of Belgium’s Financial Stability Report concludes that Belgian banks and insurers remain resilient and adjusts macroprudential capital requirements as mortgage risks ease amid international uncertainty. From 1 July 2026, the countercyclical capital buffer will rise to EUR 3.3 billion and the EUR 1.3 billion mortgage risk buffer will be abolished, reducing total macroprudential capital requirements to EUR 3.3 billion. The NBB maintained its prudential expectations for new Belgian mortgage loans, citing improved credit quality, while warning that commercial real estate and indirect effects from geopolitical and trade tensions still warrant vigilance.
The International Monetary Fund approved the third review of Haiti’s Staff-Monitored Program and extended it through 19 June 2027, noting that all end-December 2025 targets were met despite severe security, humanitarian and political strains. The program focuses on macroeconomic stabilisation, governance and anti-corruption reforms, stronger reserve management and risk-based bank supervision, and a shift toward grant financing to contain fiscal risks. Under its fragile and conflict-affected states strategy, the IMF will work with Haiti’s development partners to support governance and institutional capacity.
The IMF Executive Board completed the second review of Argentina’s 48‑month Extended Fund Facility and the 2026 Article IV consultation, enabling an immediate disbursement of about USD 1 billion and bringing total disbursements to USD 15.8 billion of the USD 21 billion approved. The Board found implementation broadly strong despite missing the end‑December net international reserves target, endorsed fiscal consolidation toward an overall cash balance in 2026, and called for reserve rebuilding, greater exchange rate flexibility, monetary and supervisory reforms, and continued structural reforms, while noting elevated external and domestic risks and the importance of contingency planning.
The IMF Executive Board concluded its annual review of common policies in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, noting strong growth, lower inflation, narrower imbalances, and higher reserves. Directors welcomed the Central Bank of West African States’ rate cuts but called for sustained fiscal consolidation, stronger domestic revenue mobilization, greater fiscal and debt transparency, and data‑dependent monetary policy given elevated debt, financing, and financial stability risks.
The International Monetary Fund staff reached a staff-level agreement with Togo on the combined third and fourth reviews of its Extended Credit Facility, which, subject to Executive Board approval, would unlock SDR 80.74 million (about USD 110.8 million) and bring total disbursements to SDR 220.2 million (about USD 302.2 million). IMF staff assessed implementation as broadly satisfactory, citing strong quantitative and structural performance, improved public financial management and fiscal transparency, and achievement of social and pro-poor spending targets, while stressing the need to address banking sector vulnerabilities, energy-sector state-owned enterprises, and governance and business environment reforms.
The Egmont Group, speaking at a Wolfsberg Forum discussion, said public-private partnerships between Financial Intelligence Units and the private sector are central to combating increasingly complex, cross-border financial crime. It highlighted priorities including clear legal frameworks and trusted information sharing, two-way value with actionable insights for firms, measurable operational outcomes, and technology use grounded in governance and real use cases, and confirmed it will continue supporting Financial Intelligence Units in strengthening these models.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited, alleging it failed to exercise due care and act in members’ best financial interests when allowing NQ Super & Pension members to invest over AUD 65 million in the First Guardian Master Fund. ASIC claims Equity Trustees approved three First Guardian classes without key documents and allowed members to invest 100% of their balances despite evidence the fund was or may have been illiquid. The case is part of ASIC’s 2026 enforcement priority into the collapse of First Guardian and related funds and is its second action against Equity Trustees and fifth against a super trustee.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has published Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre findings on financial and regulatory technology, concluding Australia is well placed to benefit from continued financial innovation and that artificial intelligence is becoming embedded in routine financial activities. ASIC said the findings will inform its strategy to support responsible innovation, including engagement through the ASIC Digital Finance Advisory Panel and roundtables, and will reinforce its focus on safe innovation and simpler, principles-based regulation.
Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren has urged the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to revoke a Section 23A exemption granted to Morgan Stanley. She argues it improperly allows taxpayer-backed deposits to support risky European activities, undermines the public interest test, and heightens risks to bank safety, the federal safety net and the Deposit Insurance Fund, warning that failure to reverse it could later require divestiture.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s latest System Risk Outlook finds Australia’s financial system remains resilient, with banks and insurers well capitalised and liquid, but notes intensified oversight and higher expectations for risk management amid geopolitical tensions, rapid artificial intelligence adoption and more complex global market linkages. APRA highlights AI governance and cyber resilience as central supervisory priorities, citing an April 2026 industry letter that set minimum expectations for board literacy, AI strategy, lifecycle accountability, supplier visibility, security testing and continuous monitoring. The report also notes that domestic private credit exposures remain contained at about AUD 200 billion, or 3 per cent of the banking system, but warns of growing offshore risks through international private market holdings and banks’ funds finance activities.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has revoked Eric Insurance Limited’s authorisation to carry on insurance business in Australia under the Insurance Act 1973, completing its exit from the general insurance market. The revocation followed a request from Eric’s deed administrators and reflects that, following execution of the deed of company arrangement, Eric had no remaining insurance liabilities.
The Argentina Securities Commission and the Financial Information Unit will continue a joint working group to identify capital markets risks, focusing on obliged entities and virtual asset service providers, and to detect illicit activity without unnecessary burdens on legitimate business. The update confirms cooperation on information exchange, anti-money laundering prevention, virtual asset service provider regulation, and joint training and outreach, with the Financial Information Unit’s new head calling for clearer criteria and an updated risk-based approach.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is advancing digital asset market structure and stablecoin legislation as part of its affordability agenda, with Chairman Tim Scott emphasizing consumer protection and lower-cost, faster transactions. Scott highlighted bipartisan engagement and identified rewards, ethics, quorum, decentralized finance and anti-money laundering as key points of debate, arguing that stablecoin legislation could expand access to financial tools, increase demand for U.S. Treasuries and support the U.S. dollar’s reserve currency role.
The Bank of Korea reported that the preliminary Producer Price Index for April 2026 rose 2.5% month on month and 6.9% year on year, driven mainly by a 4.4% increase in manufacturing products, while agricultural, forestry and marine products fell 1.0%. The Domestic Supply Price Index increased 5.2% on the month and 9.9% on the year, and the Total Output Price Index rose 3.9% on the month and 13.8% on the year, with strong gains in coal, petroleum products and raw materials. All three indexes are preliminary and may be revised.
The Japan Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has proposed partial amendments to the Basic Guidelines on Securities Monitoring, which govern onsite monitoring by the commission and the Finance Bureau. The draft would expand the scope of inspection notices for advance-notice inspections and clarify that there is no fixed sequence for receiving opinions, including via questionnaires, in monitoring.
The Bank of Japan’s May 2026 Bond Market Survey reports improved but still sub-neutral functioning in the secondary Japanese government bond market, with the overall diffusion index rising to -16 from -26 and the three-month change index turning positive to 12. Liquidity and execution indicators strengthened unevenly, while surveyed institutions expect a gradual rise in yields, forecasting newly issued 10-year JGBs at 2.50% by end-June 2026 and 2.77% by end-March 2029.
The Bank of Japan will revise its real exports and imports from the April 2026 release, introducing more granular classifications (31 export and 28 import items) and refining the correspondence between goods and deflators to reduce biases from large price swings in items such as semiconductors and gold. Data prior to 2000 will be recalculated using the previous eight-group method’s month-on-month changes, and real exports by region and goods will now be released at 4:00 p.m. one business day after the Ministry of Finance’s provisional Trade Statistics. The Bank will discontinue the real trade balance series.
The Bank of Japan has published first quarter 2026 data on Loans and Bills Discounted by Sector and Loans to Households on its Time-Series Data Search. It has also revised selected data for the third quarter of 2024 through the fourth quarter of 2025 on outstanding and new fixed investment loans, fixed investment loans by enterprise scale, borrower numbers, and household consumer loans for domestically licensed banks and shinkin banks.
The European Parliament’s 20 May plenary agenda includes a debate on barriers to the single market with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and on improving certainty for EU businesses. MEPs will also discuss alternative funding for the next long-term EU budget, including levies on online gambling, digital services and crypto asset capital gains, and an extension of the carbon border adjustment mechanism. The session features new legislation to strengthen victims’ rights, a vote on a draft resolution on the rule of law in Slovakia, a press conference on tariff aspects of the August 2025 Turnberry EU-US deal, and debates on labour, human rights and competitiveness.
Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit reported that a Florida state court in Miami entered judgment for Mexico in a civil asset recovery case tied to an illicit public procurement scheme involving former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna. The court ordered members of the Weinberg family and related companies to pay USD 578.5 million, with assets in multiple jurisdictions to be surrendered and liquidated under oversight of the Financial Intelligence Unit and other authorities. Combined with earlier judgments against García Luna and his spouse, total awards to Mexico in this scheme now exceed USD 3.067 billion.
The British Columbia Financial Services Authority has suspended real estate licensee Afsaneh Zarshenas (also known as Afsi Dashti) for six months and ordered her to pay CAD 9,235.28 in enforcement expenses for failing to cooperate with an investigation, deeming this professional misconduct. The investigation concerns complaints that she obtained investor funds for purported high-return short-term loans and mortgages, then stopped interest payments and did not return principal, but these allegations remain unproven and under investigation. Her licence is already suspended under a 2025 consent order until she pays a CAD 50,000 discipline penalty, with the new suspension to begin once that is lifted.
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services announced House passage of an amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, revising the Senate bill to restore community banking provisions while preserving measures to streamline housing development, improve affordability, encourage new construction, update HUD programs, and remove regulatory barriers. The committee said the amendments address concerns from House members and market participants and aim to deliver a more balanced, bipartisan housing reform package focused on expanding housing supply and reducing regulatory frictions.
The U.S. Financial Services Committee reported House passage of four bills covering a 9/11 commemorative coin program and measures to expand community bank access to deposits and de novo charters. The coin bill would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins supporting the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, while the banking bills would raise reciprocal deposit limits, broaden eligibility for community banks, and require federal banking and credit union regulators to streamline de novo application processes for smaller lenders.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Capital Markets Subcommittee held a hearing on whether existing equity market structure rules, including Regulation National Market System and Rule 611, remain fit for purpose. Subcommittee Chair Anne Wagner questioned if long-standing Securities and Exchange Commission rules still promote competition, innovation and investor outcomes amid zero-commission trading, increased retail participation and complex order routing, and welcomed SEC Chairman Atkins’ broader review.