Week of  February 16 - 22, 2026

🗓️ February 16, 2026

• EIOPA publishes the first batch of guidelines and draft technical standards related to the IRRD. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published six key instruments related to the implementation of the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (IRRD), covering guidelines and technical standards on pre-emptive recovery plans, resolution plans, and resolvability of insurance undertakings and groups. The IRRD, set to be operational in 2027, introduces a recovery and resolution framework for (re)insurers in Europe, focusing on pre-emptive planning and effective crisis management to minimize negative impacts on policyholders, taxpayers, and financial stability. EIOPA’s first batch of technical standards and guidelines aims to support the practical implementation of the IRRD, addressing recovery plans, resolution strategies, and criteria for identifying critical functions. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ February 17, 2026

• CFTC Reaffirms Exclusive Jurisdiction over Prediction Markets in U.S. Circuit Court Filing. Washington - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to affirm its exclusive jurisdiction over U.S. commodity derivatives markets, including prediction markets, in the case of North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. et al v. The State of Nevada. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig emphasized the importance of event contracts for hedging risks and managing portfolio exposure, asserting that these are commodity derivatives under the CFTC’s regulatory authority. The brief highlights the legal history supporting the CFTC’s role, noting that states and other federal entities lack the authority to regulate these markets, as such actions could destabilize the economy. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ February 18, 2026

• Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, January 27–28, 2026. The Federal Reserve released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held on January 27–28, 2026. These minutes, typically published three weeks after the meeting, describe economic and financial conditions based on the information available at that time. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Proposes Amendments to Reduce Burdens in Reporting of Fund Portfolio Holdings. Washington D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Form N-PORT to reduce reporting burdens for registered investment companies while maintaining data utility and public assessment capability. The changes include extending the filing deadline by 15 days, reducing report frequency from monthly to quarterly, and modifying reporting items, such as removing “Names Rule” reporting. Additionally, compliance dates for “Names Rule” requirements are extended to Nov. 17, 2027, for funds with $10 billion or more in net assets and May 18, 2028, for those with less. 🔗 Read more
• Upcoming changes to the Euribor Panel. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a statement regarding Barclays Bank PLC’s withdrawal from the Euribor panel, effective 27 February 2026. ESMA and the Euribor College of Supervisors have concluded that this departure does not affect Euribor’s representativeness, especially following the recent addition of three new panel banks. ESMA welcomes the announcement of another bank joining the panel and encourages more credit institutions to participate to support Euribor’s robustness and representativeness. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA publishes statement supporting the smooth implementation of the Listing Act – simplifying prospectus compliance for issuers. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has provided practical guidance on the revised prospectus framework introduced by the Listing Act, applicable to national competent authorities, issuers, and their advisors. ESMA clarifies that registration documents approved or filed until 4 June 2026 can continue to be used under the Article 48a transitional regime, supporting simplification efforts while ensuring investor protection. Additionally, ESMA offers guidance on disclosures for EU Follow-on and EU Growth issuance prospectuses until the Delegated Act amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 takes effect. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ February 19, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board announces approval of application by Fulton Financial Corporation. The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced its approval of the application by Fulton Financial Corporation, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to acquire Blue Foundry Bancorp and thereby indirectly acquire Blue Foundry Bank, both of Rutherford, New Jersey. 🔗 Read more
• Federal Reserve Board announces it will hold a hybrid public outreach meeting on Thursday, March 26, as part of its review of regulations under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA). The Federal Reserve Board announced a hybrid public outreach meeting on March 26 as part of its review of regulations under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act. This meeting allows stakeholders to present views on various regulatory categories affecting Board-supervised institutions, with registration required by March 19, 2026. The meeting will be held at the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C., and livestreamed on federalreserve.gov and YouTube. 🔗 Read more
• Court Enters Final Judgment Against Investment Adviser and Advisory Firm for Breaches of Fiduciary Duties in Annuity Sales to Advisory Clients. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a final judgment against Jeffrey Cutter and Cutter Financial Group LLC, ordering CFG to pay a $100,000 penalty and Cutter a $50,000 penalty. The judgment mandates that they provide a copy of the judgment to all clients for five years and prohibits future violations of Section 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This follows an April 23, 2025 jury verdict that found them liable for selling fixed index annuities without adequate disclosure of their financial incentives. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Obtains Final Judgment against Investment Adviser Charged with Making Misrepresentations in SEC Filing. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment by default against Bluesky Eagle Capital Management Ltd. for making material misrepresentations and unsubstantiated statements in its December 2023 Form ADV filed with the SEC. The judgment permanently enjoins Bluesky Eagle and its executives from future violations and filing a Form ADV as an Exempt Reporting Adviser, and orders a civil penalty of $1,182,254. The SEC’s litigation was conducted by a team from the Boston Regional Office, with assistance from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Charges Brothers in North Texas in Connection with Alleged Real Estate Offering Fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Texas residents Saumil Thakkar and Poorvesh Thakkar, along with their companies, for allegedly conducting a real estate offering fraud by raising over $12 million through misrepresentations. The complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, accuses the Thakkars and their companies of violating antifraud provisions and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, and conduct-based injunctions against them. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Christopher Reynolds and Melvin Warren, supervised by Nikolay Vydashenko and Jaime Marinaro, with litigation led by Matthew Gulde and supervised by Keefe Bernstein. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA sanctions REGIS-TR for serious breaches of organisational obligations. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) fined REGIS-TR, S.A. EUR 1,374,000 for seven infringements under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), marking the first enforcement case involving SFTR breaches and the highest fine on a trade repository by ESMA. The breaches included deficiencies in policies and procedures, organisational structure, operational risk management, and information confidentiality, leading to serious issues that compromised the implementation of the SFTR reporting regime. ESMA emphasized the importance of compliance for maintaining the quality and integrity of EU financial markets and required REGIS-TR to rectify ongoing infringements. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA publishes list of supplementary deferrals for sovereign bonds. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), along with National Competent Authorities (NCAs), except the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), has agreed on supplementary deferrals to the standard MiFIR deferral regime for sovereign bonds. These deferrals allow the omission of volume publication for medium-sized trades on liquid bonds in Group 1 until the end of the trading day. The supplementary deferrals will begin on 4 May 2026. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA seeks input to streamline and simplify its market abuse guidelines. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a consultation proposing amendments to its Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) guidelines regarding the delay in the disclosure of inside information. The proposals aim to align the guidelines with the amended disclosure regime of the Listing Act, reducing administrative burdens for issuers and providing clearer requirements. From June 2026, issuers will not need to immediately disclose inside information related to protracted processes, and ESMA suggests removing the legitimate interests for delayed disclosure in such cases, while adding new legitimate interests like requests from public authorities or the need for more time to collect information. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ February 20, 2026

• ESMA publishes a supervisory briefing on the AAR representativeness obligation. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a supervisory briefing on the representativeness obligation linked to the active account requirement (AAR). The briefing outlines ESMA’s expectations for counterparties to comply with and report on the AAR representativeness obligation, providing guidance and promoting supervisory convergence. It explains how counterparties should identify relevant subcategories for the AAR, report trades, and includes a compliance example. 🔗 Read more