News and research on global financial regulation
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Global Financial Regulation is an independent publication tracking the rules, proposals, consultations and enforcement actions that shape financial markets worldwide, with a focus on the United States, United Kingdom and European Union.
Everything we publish is selected and written by a person. No content is written by AI. Our writers combine backgrounds in journalism, finance and law, which shapes how we work:
Curated, not aggregated. We choose what matters from a very large volume of regulatory output. Each item is read at source (the consultation paper, the rule text, the penalty notice) rather than relying on press releases or second-hand summaries.
Analysis, not just news. Every item says what happened, and then what it means in practice: who is affected, what the real risks and trade-offs are, and what firms should be watching or planning for.
Independent. We are not affiliated with any regulator, law firm, vendor or trade body, and our coverage is not sponsored.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance clarifying how the law underpinning the UK’s incoming cryptoasset regime applies to firms’ businesses, ahead of the authorisation gateway opening at the end of the month.
The Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have jointly published a voluntary toolkit for cyber resilience at financial market infrastructures, alongside a discussion paper examining the risks FMIs face from growing reliance on third-party service providers.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rescinding its 15-year-old “pay-to-play” rule, which currently bars investment advisers from providing paid advisory services to a government client for two years after making a political contribution to certain elected officials or candidates.
HM Treasury has confirmed plans to give the Bank of England a secondary statutory objective to support innovation in payment systems and emerging forms of digital money, including stablecoins, while keeping financial stability as its overriding priority.
The Bank of England has deferred the entirety of its planned November 2026 RTGS standards release — including the new messaging standards for CHAPS payments — after Swift announced it would delay the equivalent global CBPR+ standards release.
Large investment firms edging toward the €30 billion balance-sheet threshold that triggers mandatory reclassification as a credit institution have a clearer — though still evolving — picture of how that threshold will be measured, after the European Banking Authority opened a consultation on three draft technical standards.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets”, a tailored securities offering regime intended to give crypto issuers clearer routes to raise capital while keeping core investor protections intact.
The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has imposed a £4,732,830.58 penalty on Citibank, N.A., London Branch (CBNA London), in one of its largest enforcement actions to date, after finding the bank breached the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021.
The London Stock Exchange has brought into force a package of changes to the AIM Rules for Companies and the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, confirmed in AIM Notice 64 following a June 2026 consultation that drew overwhelmingly supportive feedback.
The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) have proposed amendments that would allow counterparties below the €8 billion initial margin threshold under EMIR to stop exchanging margin. The changes would prevent initial margin exchange altogether — including
The European Commission has adopted a landmark Communication outlining a strategic blueprint to overhaul the EU banking sector and capital markets, marking a key milestone in the bloc's Savings and Investments Union (SIU) initiative.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a statement outlining critical operational deadlines and preparatory steps for European capital markets as they prepare to transition to a T+1 (trade-date plus one day) settlement cycle.
The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has published its July 2026 Financial Stability Report, warning that mounting hedge fund leverage in equity markets and extreme concentration in mega-cap artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have heightened systemic risks across global financial markets.
The Financial Conduct Authority has opened a wide-ranging consultation on reforming the regulatory framework for alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs), covering the roughly £2 trillion in alternative assets and £16 trillion in total assets under management overseen by UK managers of hedge funds, private equity funds and real asset funds.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has issued a statement following its Plenary meeting in London, warning that elevated asset valuations, leveraged trading strategies, and expanding private credit markets present growing vulnerabilities to global financial resilience.