Week of December 29 - January 4, 2026

🗓️ December 29, 2025

• Deputy Director of Enforcement Nekia Hackworth Jones Concludes Her Tenure at the SEC. Washington D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Nekia Hackworth Jones concluded her tenure as Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement (Southeast) on December 26, 2025. During her nearly five-year service, she held roles including Atlanta Regional Director and supervised enforcement investigations across Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Miami. Ms. Jones expressed gratitude for her experience and the opportunity to protect investors, while SEC Director Margaret A. Ryan praised her leadership and commitment. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Announces Retirement of Division of Corporation Finance Deputy Director Cicely LaMothe. Washington D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the retirement of Cicely LaMothe, Deputy Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, after 24 years of service. During her tenure, she contributed significantly to regulatory transparency, policy recommendations, and improvements in public company disclosure reviews. Ms. LaMothe expressed gratitude for her time at the SEC and her colleagues’ support, and she plans to pursue new opportunities. 🔗 Read more
• FDIC Publishes November Enforcement Actions. Washington - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published a list of seven administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in November 2025, including one previously omitted order. These actions comprised one consent order, two prohibition orders, two orders terminating consent orders, one order of termination of insurance, and one order terminating proceedings. No administrative hearings are scheduled for January 2026. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ December 30, 2025

• Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, December 9-10, 2025. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that was held on December 9–10, 2025. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee are generally published three weeks after the day of the policy decision. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes are based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting. 🔗 Read more
• Agencies release annual asset-size thresholds under Community Reinvestment Act regulations. The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced the 2026 updated Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) asset-size thresholds for small banks and intermediate small banks. Due to a 2.51 percent increase in the CPI-W for the period ending in November 2025, a small bank is now defined as having assets of less than $1.649 billion, while an intermediate small bank has assets between $412 million and $1.649 billion. These thresholds are adjusted annually based on inflation to assess financial institutions’ records of meeting community credit needs. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Charges Former COO and Former Managing Partner with Securities Fraud Related to Alleged $300 Million Ponzi Scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged David J. Bradford and Gerardo L. Linarducci for their roles in an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme related to Drive Planning’s “Real Estate Acceleration Loans” program. The SEC previously obtained emergency relief against Drive Planning and its founder, Russell Todd Burkhalter. Bradford consented to a final judgment without admitting or denying the allegations, agreeing to be permanently enjoined from violating federal securities law and to pay disgorgement with prejudgment interest and a civil penalty. The SEC’s investigation is being conducted by Austin Stephenson and Connor Harbin, supervised by Peter Diskin and Justin Jeffries, with litigation led by Pat Huddleston and H.B. Roback. 🔗 Read more
• FINRA Orders American Portfolios Financial Services to Pay $4.6 Million in Restitution for Overcollection of Fees, Retention of Surplus Interest. Washington - FINRA has ordered American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) to pay $4.6 million in restitution to customers affected by inaccurate fee calculations and undisclosed surplus interest retention from April 2018 to September 2022. The firm was also fined $550,000 for these violations. APFS enrolled about 85,000 customers in its bank deposit program, where it collected over $3 million in excess fees and retained approximately $1.25 million in surplus interest. The firm lacked a supervisory system to ensure accurate customer disclosures and fee calculations, leading to inaccurate monthly reports with FINRA. APFS was acquired by Osaic Holdings, Inc. in November 2022, and merged into Osaic Wealth, Inc. in October 2024, with Osaic providing substantial assistance in calculating restitution. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ January 2, 2026

• FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance. Washington - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a list of state nonmember banks evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in October 2025. The CRA, a 1977 law, requires the FDIC to assess a bank’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. A consolidated list of all state nonmember banks evaluated since July 1, 1990, is available publicly or from FDIC’s Public Information Center. 🔗 Read more
• New Committees now operational: MRC, SSC and IAC. The new IAIS Committee-level structure, effective from 1 January 2026, includes the Monitoring and Risk Assessment Committee chaired by Dieter Hendrickx, the Standards and Supervisory Practices Committee co-chaired by Farzana Badat and Judi French, and the Implementation Assessment Committee chaired by Vicky White. The structure also features a flexible reporting system for subcommittees, which will report to one or more committees based on the annual Roadmap. Additional information is available in the updated IAIS organigram and a recording of the IAIS Annual Conference 2025 discussion. 🔗 Read more