Week of October 12-18, 2026

🗓️ October 12, 2026

• Pacific partners deepen cooperation to combat organised crime and illicit finance. Pacific financial intelligence and regulatory leaders are convening in Sydney for the 2026 Pacific Financial Intelligence Community (PFIC) Plenary and Pacific Supervisors Forum (PSF) to enhance regional cooperation against organised crime, money laundering, fraud, and other financial threats. Hosted by AUSTRAC and FIU Naoero, the forums will focus on intelligence sharing, capability building, and practical collaboration, emphasizing the importance of public-private partnerships to combat cross-border crime. The events align with the Australian Government’s $600 million commitment to addressing serious organised crime in the Pacific. 🔗 Read more
  

🗓️ October 13, 2026

• SEC Obtains Final Judgments as to Matthew Brown and His Company in Action Alleging Fraudulent Scheme. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered final judgments against Matthew Brown and his company, Matthew Brown Companies, LLC, for fraud charges related to a bogus investment offer in Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. The Court granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment on liability, permanently enjoining them from violating antifraud provisions and barring Brown from participating in securities transactions or serving as an officer or director of a public company, with a civil penalty of $236,451. The litigation, led by Patrick Disbennett and supervised by Keefe Bernstein, has now concluded. 🔗 Read more
• FINRA Launches Enhanced Investor Education and Protection Tools to Help Research Markets and Recognize Fraud. FINRA has launched the Market Data and Investments Explorer and enhanced Risk and Scam Meters to empower investors with tools and knowledge for informed financial decisions and fraud prevention. The Market Data and Investments Explorer integrates FINRA’s investor education materials with market, product, and company data, while the Risk and Scam Meters offer interactive experiences to assess fraud vulnerabilities and build scam awareness. 🔗 Read more
• European Supervisory Authorities set priorities for 2027. The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA, and ESMA) has published its Annual Work Programme for 2027, outlining priorities to address cross-sectoral risks and enhance coordination in the EU’s financial sector. Key areas of focus include digital operational resilience, technological innovation, sustainable finance, securitisation, and cross-sectoral risk monitoring, with an emphasis on consumer protection and supporting the EU’s sustainability framework. The programme aims to ensure a coordinated supervisory response to challenges, supporting a resilient and innovative financial system while aligning with the European Commission’s objectives for an efficient Savings and Investment Union. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA sets out 2026 European Common Enforcement Priorities. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has outlined the European Common Enforcement Priorities (ECEP) for the 2026 annual financial reports of listed issuers, focusing on IFRS financial statements, sustainability statements under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) digital reporting. ESMA emphasizes the importance of materiality assessments and has published the 31st extract from the FRWG (EECS) database of enforcement, detailing seven decisions related to IFRS Accounting Standards and ESMA’s Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures (APM Guidelines). 🔗 Read more
• Three arrests in major FCA operation against criminal insider dealing ring. On 13 October, 3 individuals were arrested in a joint operation by the FCA and the National Crime Agency, involving over 100 staff conducting searches at 5 residential premises in London and Manchester. More than 30 mobile phones, laptops, and tablets were seized, and the suspects are currently being interviewed by the FCA. Steve Smart emphasized the seriousness of insider dealing and the FCA’s commitment to combating market abuse, highlighting their success in securing 4 insider dealing convictions in 2025/26, with record sentences totaling 11 years and fines amounting to £1.77m. 🔗 Read more

🗓️ October 14, 2026

• SEC Small Business Advisory Committee to Discuss IPO Modernization and Regulation Crowdfunding. Washington D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on October 27, 2026, at 10 a.m. to discuss IPO modernization and potential policy changes to Regulation Crowdfunding. The morning session will focus on encouraging more companies to go public by modernizing the IPO process, while the afternoon session will address Regulation Crowdfunding, including its current framework and potential improvements. The meeting will be held at the SEC’s headquarters and streamed live on SEC.gov. 🔗 Read more
• The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary) joins IAIS cooperation and information exchange agreement. The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary; MNB) has joined the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU), enhancing international supervisory cooperation and information exchange. This agreement allows for open cooperation and exchange among insurance supervisors, promoting financial stability and sound supervision of cross-border insurance operations. Since its inception in June 2009, the MMoU has grown to represent three-quarters of global gross written premiums. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA analysis shows continued growth in cross-border investment services. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has completed its annual analysis of cross-border investment services, revealing significant growth in 2025. A total of 379 financial firms provided cross-border services to retail clients, with approximately 15.5 million clients in the EU/EEA receiving services from firms located in other Member States, almost twice as many as in 2023. Cyprus remained the primary location for firms providing cross-border investment services in the EU/EEA, accounting for 20% of passporting firms, followed by Luxembourg (14%) and Germany (12%). 🔗 Read more
• Two plead guilty after clients lose £2m in fraud case. Kerry Nelson and Jacqueline Stephens admitted to defrauding clients between January 2019 and January 2023 and using false documents as part of the fraud. Nelson also admitted to a money laundering offence, using funds to support her extravagant lifestyle. They will be sentenced on 10 December 2026, and the FCA will seek confiscation proceedings to remove any financial benefits Nelson gained from her actions. 🔗 Read more

🗓️ October 15, 2026

• ESMA updates its manual on transparency with new guidance for OTC derivatives and tick-size regime. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its manual on transparency to provide further guidance on identifying OTC derivatives subject to transparency requirements and to enhance supervisory convergence on the tick-size regime. The update clarifies how identifying reference data for OTC derivatives should be provided for transparency purposes and includes several published Q&As and recommendations on the tick-size regime. 🔗 Read more
• ESMA's third Sanctions Report highlights the need for greater convergence in enforcement. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report on sanctions and measures in the European Economic Area (EEA) for 2025, noting over 950 administrative sanctions with fines totaling nearly €82 million. The report emphasizes the need for stronger convergence in enforcement, as significant differences exist in the number and type of sanctions, fines, and settlement procedures, with Germany, France, and Spain accounting for two-thirds of the fines. Enforcement activity remains focused on breaches of the Market Abuse Regulation and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation, primarily in a few jurisdictions. 🔗 Read more

🗓️ October 16, 2026

• ESMA finalises the review of guidelines on the delay in disclosure of inside information. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) guidelines to streamline the process for delaying the disclosure of inside information, ensuring investors are informed while preventing insider dealing. Following a public consultation, ESMA identified five additional legitimate interests for delaying disclosures, such as requests from public authorities and the risk of losing business opportunities. Since June 2026, issuers are no longer required to immediately disclose inside information related to protracted processes, leading to the removal of related legitimate interests from the guidelines. 🔗 Read more
• One year to go for T+1 settlement: the regulatory framework is complete, now let’s make it happen. The European Union will transition to T+1 settlement on 11 October 2027, with ESMA urging market participants to complete technical preparations and begin testing. The regulatory framework is now ready with the publication of the RTS and ESMA Guidelines, and the first compliance deadline for investment firms and their clients is 7 December 2026. Verena Ross, ESMA’s chair, emphasized the importance of industry and public authority collaboration for a successful transition, highlighting the improved efficiency and competitiveness it will bring to EU markets. 🔗 Read more