Week of  March 23-29, 2026

🗓️ March 23, 2026

• SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Former Resident of Los Angeles Charged with Insider Trading. The United States District Court for the Central District of California entered a final consent judgment against Kevan Sadigh for insider trading, as part of the SEC’s civil enforcement action. Sadigh was tipped about material nonpublic information regarding corporate acquisitions and made unlawful trades, resulting in a permanent injunction and a disgorgement order of $108,120, satisfied by a parallel criminal case forfeiture. The SEC’s litigation is led by David S. Mendel and James E. Smith, and supervised by Christopher Bruckmann, Paul E. Kim, and Joseph Sansone. 🔗 Read more
• The European banking sector enters period of geopolitical uncertainty from a position of strength. The European Banking Authority (EBA) released its Q4 2025 Risk Dashboard, indicating that the EU/EEA banking sector remains strong with robust capitalisation, ample liquidity, and solid asset quality despite global economic uncertainties due to Middle East conflicts. The dashboard, now published alongside the new CRR3/CRD6 dashboard, shows EU/EEA banks’ direct exposures to the Middle East at EUR 132bn, with potential second-round effects from heightened tensions. Capital buffers and profitability are stable, with risk-weighted assets at EUR 10.2 trillion and a CET1 ratio of 16.3%, while liquidity conditions have improved, with the LCR at 163.1%. The CRR3/CRD6 dashboard projects a slight decrease in the CET1 ratio under fully-loaded implementation but no capital shortfalls before 2030, providing banks time to adjust. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 24, 2026

• SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgments as to Former Ozy Media Executives. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered final judgments against Samir Rao, former COO of Ozy Media, Inc., and Suzee Han, its former Chief of Staff, resolving the SEC’s litigation. The SEC’s complaint alleged that they raised approximately $50 million from investors through false representations of Ozy Media’s financial condition, with Rao inflating revenue by at least 100 percent annually from 2018 to 2020 and Han assisting in disseminating these false statements. The judgments permanently enjoin them from violating antifraud provisions and impose a three-year bar on Rao from acting as an officer or director of any public company. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Investment Adviser to Five Private Venture Capital Funds. The United States District Court for the Central District of California issued a final judgment against Defendant Stuart Frost, who was charged by the SEC with violating the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC’s complaint, filed on August 13, 2019, accused Frost of defrauding five private venture capital funds and their investors of over $14 million from 2012 to 2016 by charging undisclosed and excessive incubator fees. Frost consented to the judgment, which permanently enjoins him from certain violations and orders him to pay a $150,000 civil penalty. 🔗 Read more
• CFTC Staff Amends Brexit-Related No-Action Positions for Additional UK Trading Facilities. Washington - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight announced today it is amending no-action positions in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, known as Brexit. Specifically, DMO is amending Appendix A to CFTC Staff Letter 24-11 to include OptAxe Limited and Capitolis UK Limited as additional eligible U.K. trading facilities covered by the no-action positions in that staff letter. 🔗 Read more
• Chairman Selig Announces Formation of New Innovation Task Force. Washington - Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig launched the Innovation Task Force to advance clear rules for American innovators in U.S. derivatives markets. In partnership with the Innovation Advisory Committee, the Task Force will develop a regulatory framework for crypto assets, blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, prediction markets, and event contracts. Michael J. Passalacqua, senior advisor to the Chairman, will lead the Task Force, which will coordinate with federal agencies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 🔗 Read more
• The EBA publishes its second MREL impact assessment Report. The European Banking Authority’s second Impact Assessment Report on MREL shows that EU banks have been building up MREL resources between 2022-2024 to meet the final targets effective from 1 January 2024, with resolution entities holding MREL-eligible instruments amounting to 34.7% of total risk exposure amount on average by the end of 2024. The introduction of MREL requirements has led to significant issuances of eligible liabilities, with EUR 371 billion issued in 2024, but smaller banks face structural challenges, relying more on retained earnings and CET1 capital, while larger banks issue across different subordination layers. Despite these efforts, there are no material changes to banks’ business models directly attributed to MREL, though smaller institutions experience higher compliance costs and complexity.  🔗 Read more
• The EBA launches call for papers for its 2026 Policy Research Workshop. The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a call for papers for its 15th Policy Research Workshop, scheduled for 18-19 November 2026 in Paris, focusing on ‘Efficient and Proportionate Regulation for a Competitive Financial Sector’. The deadline for submissions is 19 June 2026, and the workshop will gather economists and researchers to discuss regulatory frameworks that enhance competitiveness, resilience, and integration in the financial sector. The EBA invites policy-oriented, preferably empirical, research papers on topics such as competitiveness in the prudential rulebook, impacts of efficiency and proportionality, competition and innovation, and the integration of ESG risks. 🔗 Read more
• The Illinois Department of Insurance joins IAIS cooperation and information exchange agreement. The Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) has joined the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU), an international agreement for supervisory cooperation and information exchange. This membership enhances Illinois’s ability to work with international supervisors, promoting effective supervision and consumer protection. The MMoU requires a rigorous assessment of professional secrecy regimes and facilitates the exchange of information to ensure financial stability and sound supervision of cross-border insurance operations. 🔗 Read more
• IOSCO publishes Investment Funds Statistics Report and updates Dashboard. IOSCO published its 2025 Investment Funds Statistics Report and updated its associated Dashboard, which provides a global overview of the size, composition, and risk characteristics of investment funds. The report covers 128,389 funds across 38 IOSCO member jurisdictions for the 2024 reporting year, representing USD 72.6T in global aggregate net asset value and around 85% of the global investment funds industry. Overall, the data indicates continued growth in aggregate NAV across major fund types in 2024, alongside relatively stable risk profiles. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 25, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board releases annual audited financial statements. The Federal Reserve Board released the annual audited financial statements for the Federal Reserve System for 2025, with an independent accounting firm issuing unqualified opinions, finding no material misstatements. The statements include audited individual and combined reports for the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, the Board, and one LLC, detailing assets, liabilities, and operations as of December 31, 2025, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve Act mandates an annual independent audit of these financial statements, which also included audits of internal controls over financial reporting. 🔗 Read more
• Monitoring Group Extends Terms of PIOB Board Members and Chair Through 2027. The Monitoring Group announced term extensions for PIOB members Philippe Christelle, Tom Furusawa, and Mark Smith, with each second term now extended through December 31, 2027. It also announced the extension of Tshego Modise’s term as Chair of the PIOB through December 31, 2027, and said it looks forward to continued collaboration with the PIOB under Tshego Modise’s leadership. 🔗 Read more‍
  

🗓️ March 26, 2026

• Federal Reserve Board announces it has made the joint findings with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency required for the OCC to approve a request by Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., for an exemption under section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. The Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have made the necessary joint findings for the OCC to approve Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A.’s request for an exemption under section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. This exemption is needed for the bank to engage in an internal corporate reorganization involving its affiliate, Morgan Stanley Europe SE, in Frankfurt, Germany. Section 23A sets limits and requirements on a bank’s transactions with its affiliates. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ March 27, 2026

• SEC Approves Amendment to NMS Plan to Further Reduce the Costs of the Consolidated Audit Trail. Washington D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission approved an amendment to the National Market System Plan for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) to implement cost savings measures while maintaining regulatory functionality. The amendment includes measures such as ceasing certain data creations and deletions, easing processing requirements, and implementing a spending cap, resulting in estimated annual cost savings of $50 million to $70 million compared to the 2025 budget. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins emphasized the need for continued efforts towards further cost savings, and the Division of Trading and Markets supports these initiatives. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action against Florida Executive and Six Companies in Connection with Investigation into Possible Market-Manipulation Scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a subpoena enforcement action in the Northern District of Texas to compel Florida business executive John Olsen and six affiliated companies to comply with investigative subpoenas issued on October 15, 2024. Despite repeated attempts, the respondents failed to produce the required documents by the deadline, with only a partial production made in April 2025, and later asserted constitutional objections to further production. The SEC seeks a court order to enforce compliance and continues its investigation into potential violations of federal securities laws related to a market-manipulation scheme involving Mondee Holdings, Inc. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgments as to Benjamin Taylor and Darina Windsor in Alleged Insider Trading Case. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final consent judgments against Benjamin Taylor and Darina Windsor, former investment bankers charged by the SEC in an alleged insider trading scheme. The judgments permanently enjoin them from violating certain securities laws, with Taylor ordered to pay $500,000 in disgorgement and Windsor ordered to pay $50,000 in disgorgement and a $50,000 civil penalty. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by several regional offices and the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit, with assistance from various agencies. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Announces Dismissal of Civil Enforcement Action Against FAT Brands, Inc. and Its Executives. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a joint stipulation with FAT Brands, Inc., Andrew Wiederhorn, Ron Roe, and Rebecca D. Hershinger 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 facts and circumstances of this case and in light of the evidence developed in discovery” and “does not reflect the SEC’s position on any other case.” 🔗 Read more
• SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Massachusetts Investment Adviser for Alleged Failure to Disclose Conflicts. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered a final judgment by consent regarding Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC, d/b/a Commonwealth Financial Network, for violating the antifraud and compliance provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Commonwealth failed to disclose material conflicts of interest related to a revenue sharing agreement, breaching its fiduciary duty to clients. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Commonwealth consented to pay a civil penalty of $5 million. 🔗 Read more
• SEC Files Settled Action as to Oklahoma Resident for Allegedly Defrauding Investors in Two Offerings. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Oklahoma resident Krish Kumar for allegedly making materially false and misleading representations to investors regarding two separate offerings, raising approximately $7.8 million and misappropriating nearly $7 million of the funds. Kumar is charged with violating multiple federal securities laws and consented to a judgment with permanent injunctions and monetary remedies to be determined by the Court. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Kathleen Galloway and Carol Stumbaugh, with litigation led by Patrick Disbennett. 🔗 Read more
• FDIC Publishes February Enforcement Actions. Washington - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published a list of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in February 2026, including eight orders and one Notice. These actions comprised one consent order, one order of prohibition, six orders terminating 100 waiver orders, and one Notice, with no administrative hearings scheduled for April 2026. For more details, visit the FDIC’s web page. 🔗 Read more
• ESAs spring risk update highlights geopolitical pressures and rising private finance risks. The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published their spring 2026 Joint Committee update, highlighting significant risks in the EU financial system due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, such as the war in the Middle East, which could lead to higher energy prices and economic growth challenges. The update also addresses emerging risks in private finance, driven by limited data and complex interconnections, while noting that the EU financial sector remains resilient with robust capital and funding positions. The ESAs urge supervisors and market participants to maintain vigilance through proactive risk assessments and prudent management of sovereign exposures, especially in light of potential indirect effects from energy prices and private market risks. 🔗 Read more