ETFBOOK raises $13m to take ETF data into the US and Apac
ETFBOOK raises $13m led by Expedition Growth Capital to take its ETF data platform into the US and Apac, yet 38% of global ETFs sit outside its coverage.
Rick Steves
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011. He holds a degree in Business Administration and has experience producing real-time news, from both buy-side and sell-side, as well as for retail traders, brokers and service providers. Steves' work has appeared in a variety of online publications including FX Street, NewsBTC, FinanceFeeds, and The Industry Spread. Rick has great interest in the dynamics of the trading industry. The never-ending clash between technology, economics, regulation, and more importantly, the people.
September 2026
Saudi fintech Tabby raises $233m at a $6.5bn valuation
Tabby raised $233m at a $6.5bn valuation led by Blue Pool Capital, but the small primary cheque shows Gulf BNPL's real growth funding is now debt, not equity.
Tickblaze enters FPFX Tech stack for futures, FX and CFD prop firms
Tickblaze joins FPFX Tech's prop firm stack as execution layer beside PropAccount.com across futures, FX and CFDs. No deal value or go-live date disclosed.
Odey ruling: sacking your own ExCo is itself the integrity breach
The Upper Tribunal upheld the FCA's ban on Crispin Odey, holding that removing his own executive committee was itself an integrity breach under ICR1.
YouLend and Dojo hit £2bn in SME funding as 83% renew
YouLend and Dojo passed £2bn in embedded finance for UK SMEs with 83% of merchants renewing, and the same lender now sits behind Stripe, Worldline and Teya.
SEC order 34-106339 drops Inline XBRL from broker-dealer audits
SEC order 34-106339 exempts broker-dealer annual reports, Form 17-H and swap-dealer compliance reports from Inline XBRL while EU and UK returns stay structured.
Chime to buy partner Stride Bank for $590m in cash
Chime's $590m Stride Bank acquisition prices a bank earning 28% on equity at 1.5x book, and pays Stride in contract renewals, not cash, if regulators block it.
FINRA’s 145-day Rule 2165 hold leans on 2020 data from 31 firms
FINRA's SR-FINRA-2026-018 would stretch Rule 2165 holds to 145 business days and add a 10-day Rule 2166 fraud delay. SEC comments close September 30, 2026.
IMTC wires MarketAxess liquidity in mid-$5.7bn ICE takeover
IMTC has embedded MarketAxess liquidity in its fixed income OMS while ICE's $5.7bn takeover is still pending. The merger proxy shows who carries the risk.
14 of the last 16 EU crypto licences went to German co-op banks
ESMA's register shows 14 of the last 16 EEA crypto authorisations went to German co-operative banks, each with one service and no cross-border passport.
StoneX retires City Index as retail segment income falls 36%
StoneX retires the City Index brand on September 12. The filed 10-Q shows retail segment income before tax down 35.7%, inside a group growing revenue 43%.
Circle buys Tazapay for $400m to reach 100 payout markets
Circle will pay $400m in Class A stock for Singapore's Tazapay and its 100-plus payout markets. The SEC filing shows an 8% holdback and a nine-month clock.
ASIC’s digital asset licence window closes on 45 applications
ASIC's no-action relief for digital asset firms ends September 30 with over 45 licence applications lodged. What the letter requires and the real penalty.
FIS puts embedded banking deposits on the bank’s balance sheet
FIS launched an embedded banking platform that keeps deposits on the bank's balance sheet, not a third-party ledger. Cogent, CBC and M&T Bank are pilots.
Spotware launches cFinancial, its own broker liquidity provider
Spotware has launched cFinancial, a Seychelles-licensed liquidity provider bundled with cTrader and cBridge, putting the vendor inside its own bridge.
SEC proposal would let a distributed ledger be the share register
The SEC's first substantial transfer agent rewrite in 40 years would let a blockchain hold the master securityholder file, but not make it the legal record.
OpenReserve wins a US bank charter priced at $210m and 12%
The OCC priced OpenReserve Bank's charter at $210m and a 12% leverage floor - below its own 2026 capital median. The balance sheet, not the brand, set it.
SEC subpoena on ISS tests proxy adviser oversight limits
The SEC asked a Philadelphia federal court to force ISS, its own registered investment adviser, to produce ProxyExchange voting data. ISS invokes the First Amendment.
Annex 1 registration is now an FCA gate, not a formality
The FCA is scrutinising Annex 1 registrations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017: refusal, cancellation, and how the UK, Ireland, EU and US compare.
ECB and Brazil study a TIPS-Pix link, pilot targeted for 2028
The ECB and Banco Central do Brasil are exploring a TIPS-Pix link for instant cross-border payments, with a 2028 pilot. Why the FX leg is the hard part.
Also filing this week: Karthik Subramanian and Abdelaziz Fathi.