GRC Report Staff

FINRA has recently settled with Redbridge Securities LLC and Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. over notable compliance shortcomings in their operations. Both firms have been fined for deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) programs, customer identification procedures, and supervisory systems. While the penalties are substantial, they reflect the importance of maintaining strong regulatory frameworks within financial institutions.

Robinhood Financial is facing some tough consequences for its failure to meet critical regulatory standards. In an action that marks a significant moment for the fintech giant, FINRA has ordered the company to pay $3.75 million in restitution to impacted customers. Additionally, Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities have been hit with a combined $26 million in fines for a series of missteps related to anti-money laundering (AML) practices, trade execution flaws, and other serious compliance issues.

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs)— namely the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) — have weighed in on the European Commission’s recent changes to the regulatory framework surrounding subcontracting under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). And in short, they’re on board.

In an open letter addressed to the European Commission, a coalition of challengers in the search engine and browser markets, alongside civil society organizations and consumer advocates, is calling for action over Google's alleged non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The letter, sent to Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez and Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, seeks the Commission's intervention to ensure that Google adheres to its obligations under the DMA—specifically, provisions intended to promote competition, improve consumer choice, and ensure a more balanced digital landscape.

Today, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) unveiled a series of proposals that promise to reshape the governance landscape for banks, insurers, and superannuation trustees. It’s been more than a decade since APRA’s last major update to its governance standards, and these new changes are set to address critical gaps in the system—an evolution that is both timely and necessary as the financial environment grows increasingly complex.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has thrown open the doors to a crucial consultation that could significantly shape the EU's anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) landscape. Today, it launched a public consultation on four draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS), which are set to be key pieces in the European Union's evolving AML/CFT framework. These standards are not just regulatory technicalities—they will directly influence how financial institutions and supervisors tackle money laundering and terrorist financing across Europe.

As Washington continues to navigate a period of significant political and regulatory upheaval, top enforcement officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took to the stage this week to reassure the public that their agencies would remain unwavering in their mission to police market misconduct.