GRC Report Staff

FINRA filed SR-FINRA-2026-020 for immediate effectiveness, postponing all remaining fee increases adopted in the 2024 Fee Filing by two years. Members will pay 2026 rates from 2027 through 2028, with a median savings rate of 7.2% and approximately USD $718 Million in aggregate savings over 2027 to 2030. Compliance and finance teams should update budgets, fee pass-through disclosures, and forecasts now.

The FCA's Feedback Statement FS26/2 concludes that FCA regulation is not a major barrier to SME access to finance, though it identifies frictions in duplicated customer checks, Consumer Credit Act (CCA) requirements, and broker incentives. The FCA will focus on three workstreams: digital verification, proportionate CCA reform, and open finance. Compliance teams at lenders, brokers, and fintechs should prepare for changes affecting onboarding, regulated lending, and data sharing.

The Deutsche Bundesbank, acting for the German federal government, will increase two federal bonds (2047 and 2056 maturities) through a multi-ISIN auction on September 23, 2026, targeting a combined EUR $2 Billion market maintenance quota. The notice is operational rather than a new regulatory obligation, but it matters to compliance teams at Federal Bidding Group member institutions, which must meet the bid submission rules, cutoffs, and settlement timeline.

At its second Proportionality Conference, BaFin said that simplified supervisory rules for less significant institutions (LSIs) give banks more freedom, but that freedom depends on responsible use. BaFin ties its push for a small bank regime in Europe to LSIs avoiding unnecessary restructuring and showing sound risk judgment. Compliance teams should expect a more principles-based, trust-driven supervisory dialogue in which citing legal provisions alone will not be enough.

The September 17, 2026 OSC Bulletin publishes Staff Notice 81-741 (the Investment Management Division Annual Summary Report), approval of an extension to the coordinated blanket order on repurchase transaction exemptions for investment funds, and a related CSA request for comment on proposed National Instrument 81-102 amendments. Investment fund managers and registrants should review these items for supervisory priorities, relief expiry and comment opportunities. The issue also carries Tribunal scheduling orders and several decisions that are mostly procedural.

An FCA review found no evidence that its regulation is a major barrier to SME access to finance. It identified market, information, and capability challenges instead, especially for microbusinesses. The FCA will focus on Consumer Credit Act reform, open finance (with SME lending prioritized), and monitoring digital verification, so firms in SME lending and customer due diligence should prepare for upcoming consultations.

The Bank of England has announced a long-term framework under which sterling banknotes will be backed primarily by gilts held directly on the Issue Department balance sheet, supplemented by a small Issue Deposit. The change follows the MPC's September 2026 decision to set a multi-year path for fully unwinding the Asset Purchase Facility. It is explanatory guidance rather than a new rule for firms, but compliance teams should assess its indirect effects on gilt markets, collateral availability, and reserves supply.