Week of  March 9-15, 2026

🗓️ March 9, 2026

• SEC Obtains Partial Consent Judgments Against Legacy Cares Defendants. თhe U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a partial judgment by consent against Jeffrey Puzzullo in an alleged municipal bond offering fraud, following partial judgments by consent against Randall (“Randy”) J. Miller, Chad J. Miller, and Jeffrey De Laveaga on July 16, 2025. According to the SEC’s complaints, Legacy Cares issued approximately $284 million in municipal bonds in August 2020 and June 2021 to finance a multi-sports park and family entertainment center in Mesa, Arizona, but the defendants allegedly fabricated or materially altered documents that formed the basis for false revenue projections, and the bonds defaulted in October 2022. All four defendants agreed to bifurcated settlements, including permanent injunctions from violating the charged provisions of the federal securities laws and from directly or indirectly participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security except for purchases or sales for their own personal accounts, while disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties will be determined by the court upon motion by the Commission. In parallel criminal proceedings, Randy Miller and Chad Miller pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six and five years in prison, respectively, while Puzzullo was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release, and De Laveaga is awaiting sentencing. 🔗 Read more
• CFTC Announces Marc H. Sielski as Executive Director. Washington D.C. - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that Marc H. Sielski has been named the agency’s executive director. In this role, Sielski will oversee the Commission’s administrative operations to support mission execution and ensure effective stewardship of public resources. He brings an extensive background in financial services and management consulting, with expertise in organizational effectiveness, operational excellence, governance and controls, enterprise transformation, and core administrative functions. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 10, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board announces termination of enforcement actions with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., New York Branch, Standard Chartered PLC, and Standard Chartered Bank. The Federal Reserve Board announced the termination of four enforcement actions. These included actions against Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Ltd. and its New York Branch, as well as Standard Chartered PLC, Standard Chartered Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank, New York Branch, with the terminated actions including a Written Agreement and Cease and Desist Orders dated between 2012 and 2024. 🔗 Read more
• ECB backs Digital Omnibus, seeks clearer simplification. The ECB supports the proposed regulation as “an important reform” to “simplify and optimise the application of the digital rulebook in the Union,” saying it could promote competitiveness, lighten the regulatory load, remove impediments to the provision of services, and support the development of the digital economy in the Union. It also welcomes proposals to simplify data-sharing, data-protection, and ICT-related incident reporting arrangements, but says it has concerns where the proposal “does not alleviate the burden of regulatory compliance” and offers specific technical observations and suggestions, including on incident reporting and the definition of a “public emergency.”  🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 11, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board announces approval of application by Associated Banc-Corp. The Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application by Associated Banc-Corp, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, to acquire American National Corporation, and thereby indirectly acquire American National Bank, both of Omaha, Nebraska. 🔗 Read more
• Federal Reserve Board announces approval of application by FirstSun Capital Bancorp. The Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application by FirstSun Capital Bancorp, of Denver, Colorado, to merge with First Foundation Inc., of Irving, Texas, and thereby indirectly acquire First Foundation Bank, of Irvine, California. 🔗 Read more
• SEC and CFTC Announce Historic Memorandum of Understanding Between Agencies. Washington D.C. - The SEC and CFTC announced a Memorandum of Understanding to guide coordination and collaboration between the two agencies to support lawful innovation, uphold market integrity, and ensure investor and customer protection. The MOU reflects both agencies’ commitment to provide fair notice to market participants, respect individual liberty, and foster lawful innovation with the minimum effective dose of regulation, while the new Joint Harmonization Initiative will advance coordinated oversight and promote regulatory clarity in areas of common regulatory interest. It will focus on efforts such as clarifying product definitions, modernizing clearing, margin, and collateral frameworks, reducing frictions for dually registered entities, and providing a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies. 🔗 Read more
• Eurosystem Unveils Appia Roadmap for Europe’s Tokenised Finance. The Eurosystem today published the roadmap for Appia, a strategic initiative to shape the development of a European tokenised financial ecosystem in which central bank money continues to play a central role. It will bring together the Eurosystem as well as public and private sector stakeholders, with the aim of building integrated, innovative and resilient tokenised wholesale financial markets in Europe. Appia has a broader, longer-term perspective and will involve close cooperation with the market to explore how a wholesale financial ecosystem based on tokenisation and DLT could be designed. By preserving the role of central bank money as the anchor of the monetary system through Appia, the Eurosystem aims to ensure that monetary policy implementation remains effective, and that financial stability and the smooth functioning of payment systems are safeguarded. Appia builds on the Eurosystem’s 2024 exploratory work on new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement and marks a key step in translating experimentation into a concrete long-term strategy. 🔗 Read more
• EU financial markets enter 2026 amid high-risk environment. ESMA’s first risk monitoring report of 2026 finds that “risks of market and systemic stress remain high despite resilient market performance in the second half of 2025.” It warns that “the likelihood of sudden and significant market price swings continues,” driven by “increasing geopolitical tensions, stretched equity valuations, and an uncertain economic outlook in the EU,” while cyber and hybrid threats also continue to grow. The report also highlights that “record-high global equity valuations in the second half of 2025 and early 2026 increased the risk of disorderly market corrections,” with vulnerabilities visible across securities markets, infrastructures, asset management, and retail investor behavior. At the same time, ESMA notes developments such as weaker IPO activity, slower but continued stablecoin growth, and rising catastrophe bond issuance as awareness of physical climate risks increases. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 12, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board announces approval of application by Home BancShares. The Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application by Home BancShares, of Conway, Arkansas, to acquire and subsequently merge with Mountain Commerce Bancorp, Inc., and thereby indirectly acquire Mountain Commerce Bank, both of Knoxville, Tennessee. The Board also approved Centennial Bank, of Conway, Arkansas, to merge with Mountain Commerce Bank and to establish and operate a branch at Mountain Commerce Bank’s location. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Announces Dismissal of Civil Enforcement Action Against Nader Al-Naji and Relief Defendants. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a joint stipulation with Defendant Nader Al-Naji and the listed Relief Defendants to dismiss, with prejudice, the Commission’s civil enforcement action against them. As stated in the joint stipulation, the Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion and seek dismissal of this litigation is based on the particular facts and circumstances of this case and “does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.” 🔗 Read more
• CFTC Seeks Public Comment on Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Relating to Prediction Markets. Washington - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on the need to amend or issue new regulations concerning event contracts traded on prediction markets. The ANPRM asks questions concerning the application of statutory core principles and Commission regulations to prediction markets, the types of event contracts that may be prohibited as contrary to the public interest, cost-benefit considerations related to prediction markets, and other topics. Comments must be in writing and received within 45 days of the ANPRM’s publication in the Federal Register. 🔗 Read more
• CFTC Staff Issues Prediction Markets Advisory. Washington - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight today issued a prediction markets advisory regarding the listing for trading of event contracts. In light of the rapid rise in popularity of prediction markets, the division seeks to encourage growth and innovation in these markets while reminding designated contract markets of their regulatory obligations pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations. The division believes that, as front-line regulators, DCMs should take proactive steps to ensure their markets continue to evolve in a manner that complies with the CEA and Commission regulations. 🔗 Read more
• Report From FINRA Board of Governors Meeting – March 2026. Washington - FINRA’s Board of Governors approved five rule proposals in line with the FINRA Forward rule modernization initiative, aimed at improving effectiveness and efficiency while protecting investors and safeguarding market integrity. The proposals include shortened exam waiting periods, electronic delivery of regulatory requests, streamlined allocation approval requirements, alternative investment reconciliation updates, and arbitration procedure enhancements. The Board also received an update on enhancements to FINRA’s enforcement program and approved the allocation of prior-year fine monies. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA sets out actions to simplify the retail investor journey and make investing more accessible. ESMA has published its takeaways from the 2025 Call for Evidence on the retail investor journey and outlines a number of actions and operational improvements to make it easier for retail investors to access suitable investment opportunities. It will focus on streamlining disclosure requirements and tackling information overload for investors, reducing complexity in suitability and appropriateness assessments, and simplifying MiFID II requirements on sustainability preferences. Responses indicate that retail investors encounter multiple regulatory and non-regulatory barriers when starting to invest, so there is not one magic solution to make the EU’s capital markets more accessible. Stakeholders said disclosures are too long, too complex, and not digital-first, while suitability and appropriateness assessments are valuable but heavy, and they also highlighted broader obstacles such as lack of trust, high fees, low financial literacy, cultural factors, and complex taxation. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 13, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board issues enforcement actions with former employee of Equity Bank and former employee of First State Bank of Dongola. The Federal Reserve Board announced two enforcement actions. A consent prohibition order was issued against Cassandra Grayson, former employee of Equity Bank in Andover, Kansas, for embezzlement of bank funds, and another against Sandra Adams, former employee of First State Bank of Dongola in Dongola, Illinois, for misappropriation of customer funds. 🔗 Read more
• CFTC Secures Judgement Against New York Companies to Pay Over $2.4 Million in Restitution, Penalties for Forex Fraud. Washington - The CFTC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a default judgment against Safety Capital Management Inc. and GNS Capital Inc., doing business as ForexnPower, for retail forex fraud, fraud as commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors, and related regulatory violations. The court found the companies “deliberately exploited” a vulnerable community of Korean-language speakers in Queens, ordered them to pay $835,058 in restitution and over $1.6 million in civil monetary penalties, and permanently enjoined them from further violations. The judgment resolves all remaining claims in the CFTC’s 2015 complaint, following earlier resolutions against Kang and Won, who were also found guilty in related civil and criminal proceedings. The CFTC also cautioned that restitution orders may not result in victims recovering lost money if defendants do not have sufficient funds or assets. 🔗 Read more
• ECB Opinion on AI Rules Simplification. The ECB welcomes the objective of the proposed regulation to promote innovation and competitiveness within the internal market by simplifying and streamlining the implementation of the AI Act, while ensuring a consistent and high-level protection of public interests and trustworthy AI usage. It also says further clarification would be appropriate, particularly by expressly excluding generalised linear models, such as linear or logistic regression used for credit scoring, from the scope of high-risk AI systems, because including them would create unnecessary compliance burdens. 🔗 Read more