News from the economy, politics and the financial markets
In this section of our news section we provide you with editorial content from leading publishers.
Latest news
CFPB Reestablishes Position That Certain Earned Wage Access Programs Are Not “Credit”
On December 23, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or “Bureau”) published an advisory opinion (the “2025 EWA Advisory Opinion”) concluding that certain earned wage access (EWA) programs do not constitute “credit” under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z. EWA, which has grown increasingly popular over the past several years, allows consumers to access a portion of wages that they have already earned but not received, prior to their scheduled payment date....By: Morrison & Foerster LLP
The Most Ignored Document: Your Plan Document
Every plan sponsor owns a plan document. Very few read it. Fewer understand it. And almost none use it as the operating manual it was designed to be....By: Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.
10 Key Focus Areas for UK-Regulated Financial Services Firms in 2026
In this publication, we explore some of the core focus areas for UK-regulated financial services firms in the year ahead....By: Latham & Watkins LLP
Private Credit ETFs for Retail Investors: Yield Potential, Liquidity Risks and Regulatory Scrutiny
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a popular investment tool for investors, providing market access to a diverse set of industries and asset classes through a liquid investment strategy. While private credit markets have exploded in popularity and become a favored investment class for many institutional investors over the past 20 years, their illiquid nature and sizable investment requirements make the private credit space generally inaccessible to retail investors. However, a new class of ETFs...By: Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Alberta Court of Appeal Clarifies PPSA Priorities in Insolvency Sales
When a professional corporation operates with equipment owned personally by its director, how do secured creditors assert priority over proceeds from a receivership sale? A recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision in Royal Bank of Canada v Patterson Dental Canada Inc, 2025 ABCA 391 (Patterson Dental), offers important guidance on Personal Property Security Act, (PPSA) priority disputes, the treatment of purchase-money security interests (PMSI) and the proper distribution of holdbacks in...By: Bennett Jones LLP
A Leaner CAT for 2026: SEC Mulls Proposed $55–$73 Million Cost Reduction
After years of concern over the cost of the consolidated audit trail (CAT), Consolidated Audit Trail, LLC (CAT LLC) proposed a sweeping amendment that could reduce annual CAT operating expenses by as much as $73 million. On December 18, 2025, CAT LLC submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a proposed amendment to the National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail (the CAT NMS Plan) designed to materially reduce the ongoing costs of operating the CAT. The...By: Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Federal Reserve’s “Payment Accounts” Proposal: A Term Sheet for Industry Input
The Federal Reserve Board is requesting public input on a prototype for a special purpose Federal Reserve Bank account (a “Payment Account”) that eligible institutions could use to clear and settle their own payments directly. Interestingly, the Federal Reserve Board’s Payments Account proposal is structured as a term sheet, serving as a preliminary framework. This presents a critical window for industry stakeholders to influence the proposed Payment Account’s design, operational parameters, and...By: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
VC Firms Face New California Reporting Mandate
Venture capital and private equity fund managers with a California nexus that qualify as venture capital companies should begin collecting founder data for investments made in 2025 and must file their first report by April 1, 2026....By: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
[Video] 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program: Day 7 - Clawbacks and Holdbacks
Welcome to 31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program. Over this 31-day series in January 2026, Tom Fox will post a key component of a best-practice compliance program each day. By the end of January, you will have enough information to create, design, or enhance a compliance program. Each podcast will be short, at 6-8 minutes, with three key takeaways that you can implement at little or no cost to help update your compliance program. I hope you will join each day in January for this...By: Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist
New Restrictions on U.S. Outbound Investment Abroad
U.S. businesses involved in the U.S. defense industrial base have been historically protected from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)....By: Womble Bond Dickinson
Enforcement News: Former Chief Operating Officer and Former Managing Partner Charged with Participating in An Alleged $300 Million Ponzi Scheme
This Blog has written about Ponzi schemes on numerous occasions. A Ponzi scheme is a type of investment fraud where returns to earlier investors are paid using investment capital from new or existing investors, rather than from legitimate profits earned through the enterprise’s business activities. Ponzi schemes persist by exploiting trust, promising high returns with little risk, and using money from new or existing investors to pay “profits” to earlier ones....By: Freiberger Haber LLP
BSA/AML Whistleblower Policy & Lawsuit Information
Federal law enforcement agencies including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) rely heavily on whistleblowers to help them uncover violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and other federal anti-money laundering (AML) statutes. Whistleblower complaints can assist these agencies with taking judicial or administrative action, and these actions can lead to monetary sanctions and other penalties....By: Oberheiden P.C.
EBA Letter On Outcome Of EBA's EU AI Act Mapping Exercise Against EU Banking And Payments Regulation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a letter sent to the European Commission (EC) with the outcome of its EU AI Act mapping exercise. In January 2025, the EBA established a dedicated workstream to map the requirements on high-risk AI systems under the EU AI Act against relevant provisions in EU banking and payments regulation, with a focus on the use of AI for creditworthiness and credit scoring....By: A&O Shearman
Why Judge Jackson Is Wrong: The CFPB Cannot Be Lawfully Funded When the Federal Reserve Has No Profits
In her December 30, 2025 opinion in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought (which we blogged about here), Judge Amy Berman Jackson concluded that the CFPB may continue to draw funding from the Federal Reserve System even when the Federal Reserve, on a combined basis, is losing money. According to the court, the statutory phrase “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System” in 12 U.S.C. § 5497(a)(1) means all revenue earned by the Federal Reserve, not profits, and therefore permits CFPB...By: Ballard Spahr LLP
EC Issues Draft Guidance On Simplified EU Taxonomy Reporting Rules
On 17 December, the European Commission published draft guidance to assist with preparing for the simplified EU Taxonomy disclosure rules, under the EU Taxonomy for sustainable economic activities, which apply from January 2026. These rules, introduced through the Omnibus Taxonomy Delegated Act adopted in July, aim to significantly reduce reporting burdens for EU businesses....By: A&O Shearman
Healthcare & Life Sciences Private Equity Deal Tracker: Gauge Capital Invests in Reliable Medical
Gauge Capital announced it has invested in Reliable Medical. Reliable, founded in 1989 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, is a provider of complex rehabilitation technology and related mobility and home medical equipment solutions across the United States....By: McGuireWoods LLP
CTA Update: A Review of the Status of Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act and Related Federal and State Initiatives as of January 5, 2026
The Interim Final Rule, issued March 26, 2025, by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), stated that FinCEN was reexamining the Regulations implementing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). FinCEN materially reduced the scope of reporting required under the CTA until further notice, noting that FinCEN would use the remainder of 2025 to craft a modified set of Regulations on beneficial ownership disclosure....By: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
FinCEN Announces Data-Driven Operation Targeting Southwest Border MSBs
On December 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a multifaceted data-driven operation to address potential money laundering, focused on more than 100 U.S. money services businesses (MSBs) operating along the southwest border....By: McGuireWoods LLP
HM Treasury Consults On New Regime For UK Benchmarks
HM Treasury (HMT) has launched its consultation on the repeal and replacement of the UK Benchmarks Regulation (UK BMR), which would replace the UK BMR regime with a new Specified Authorised Benchmark Regime. The new regime would focus regulatory oversight on benchmarks and administrators that may pose systemic risks to UK markets, removing the current obligation for authorised firms to use benchmarks on the FCA register....By: A&O Shearman
ESMA and FMA sign MoU on benchmarks
The European Securities Markets Authority and the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) have published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing cooperation arrangements under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR). This follows Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2197, published in the Official Journal of the European Union in October, which grants equivalence to New Zealand's legal and supervisory framework for benchmarks....By: A&O Shearman
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