Rule 611 bound the venues, best execution binds only brokers
FINRA Notice 26-15 asks how best execution survives the repeal of Rule 611, but Rule 611 binds trading centers and Rule 5310 binds only FINRA members.
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Regulation
Enforcement, licensing and rule-making from the SEC, FCA, CySEC, ASIC and the rest.
189 stories since 2018 · page 3 of 10
September 2026
Dolfin’s £25.2m visa scheme drew £446,800 in FCA fines
The FCA fined two former Dolfin executives £446,800 and banned them over a £25.2m visa scheme. A third co-founder contests his ban at the Upper Tribunal.
Australia’s scam liability regime stops at the banking charter
Australia's Scams Prevention Framework entered phase two on September 1, 2026, but its banking perimeter follows prudential charter, not scam exposure.
August 2026
The CFTC’s Perez order makes a speech draft inside information
CFTC Docket 26-06 orders a White House teleprompter operator to pay $172,539 for insider trading Kalshi mention markets on presidential speech drafts.
ESMA splits the EU commodity position report before ITS 4 is law
From September 3 EU venues file two weekly commodity position reports under ESMA's v2.0 schema, while the ITS 4 amendment behind them stays unadopted.
The CFTC’s compute derivatives notice is a manipulation brief
The CFTC's request for comment on compute derivatives, RIN 3038-AF77, asks whether an index its own suppliers administer can settle a futures contract.
Australia’s swap rule discloses the client at 5%, the bank at 20%
ASIC Instrument 2026/482 counts cash-settled swaps at full notional from December 4, 2026: clients file at 5%, dealers only at 20% and not in a notice.
UK’s critical third parties regime cannot fine AWS or Microsoft
HM Treasury designated AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Oracle as Critical Third Parties from July 13, 2026 — but FSMA gives regulators no power to fine them.
CFTC moves to end the SEF order-book rule for permitted swaps
The CFTC has proposed deleting the SEF order-book mandate for permitted transactions. What § 37.3(a)(2) changes, and how the EU and UK got there first.
CRD VI ends reverse solicitation as an EU business model in 2027
From January 11, 2027 Article 21c of CRD VI forces third-country banks into authorised EU branches, leaving reverse solicitation as a route no firm can scale.
Regulation Crypto Assets caps token raises and preempts states
The SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets sets $5m and $75m offering limits, a conditional investment contract safe harbor and state law preemption.
FinCEN’s $125m UBS order makes FX wire data a BSA duty
FinCEN's $125m UBS Financial Services penalty turns FX wire data lineage into an examinable BSA control, with a 180-day SAR lookback clock attached.
Why CP26/23 splits UK CFD books into UK and non-UK clients
The FCA's CP26/23 would limit the Consumer Duty to UK-resident retail clients from Q1 2027, splitting CFD brokers' books and their fair value duties.
The SEC-CFTC MOU adds 1,400 words and no enforceable duty
The March 11, 2026 SEC-CFTC MOU replaces the 2018 agreement and quadruples its examination language, but repeats the same clause creating no enforceable duty.
FCA drops FX derivatives from UK transaction reporting by 2028
FCA Policy Statement PS26/15 removes FX derivatives from UK MiFIR transaction reporting and cuts fields from 65 to 52, effective 3 April 2028.
CFTC’s conflicts proposal targets exchange-owned FCMs
The CFTC's Conflicts and Affiliations proposal (RIN 3038-AF76) sets conditions on exchanges that own FCMs or proprietary traders. Comments close October 5.
Prop firm regulation: where the perimeter actually bites
Most prop firms sit outside financial regulation: traders are not clients, fees are not client money, accounts are simulated. Where the perimeter still bites.
ESMA’s cross-border review names BaFin and CySEC, not brokers
ESMA's July 20 follow-up peer review graded six national supervisors of cross-border investment firms.
India’s offshore broker ban runs through FEMA, not SEBI
India's ban on offshore retail brokers runs through FEMA and the RBI, not SEBI. What is lawful, what GIFT City permits, and what enforcement really costs.
