GRC Report Staff

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins signaled strong support for expanding U.S. equities trading to 24 hours a day. He identified the infrastructure, price-band, and market-data preparations already underway and asked for feedback on open issues such as short selling, tokenization, and issuer obligations. Compliance teams should treat this as an early signal of coming operational and supervisory changes and consider engaging in the comment process.

ASIC's Form 280 (version dated 1 October 2021) is the mandatory notification that Australian companies must lodge for most share buy-backs that exceed the 10/12 limit, as well as for equal access scheme and selective buy-backs. Lodging it at least 14 days before the relevant date can remove the need to file Form 281. Compliance teams should confirm the correct buy-back type, documents, and timing to avoid procedural breaches.

The FCA's Instrument 2026/55 amends the Perimeter Guidance manual (PERG) to explain which cryptoasset activities will require authorization in the UK, and adds a cross-reference to CRYPTOPRU. Part 1 took effect on 16 September 2026, and the remainder takes effect on 25 October 2027. Firms should use the intervening period to assess their perimeter position and permissions.

The Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) has published a signed declaration of commitment and interests from Prof. Dr. Rudiger Veil, dated June 15, 2026, under Article 59(6) of the ESA founding regulations. It is a routine governance disclosure with no new obligations for financial institutions. It does reinforce the independence safeguards behind the appeals process that firms may use to challenge ESA decisions.

ASIC's Form 5111 is the mechanism through which responsible entities of registered managed investment schemes lodge their annual compliance plan audit reports under s601HG(7) of the Corporations Act 2001. The form discloses whether the auditor issued a qualified opinion on compliance plan adherence or on the plan's adequacy. Compliance teams must meet the three-month lodgement deadline to avoid late fees and regulatory scrutiny. Note that this is a form and guide, not a new rule. The content is dated 2011 and 2018, even though the listing shows a 2026 date, so teams should confirm that no substantive change is being introduced.

ASIC has published Form 903B (version dated 15 June 2022), the prescribed application for registration as a liquidator under Schedule 2 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Insolvency Practice Schedule, s20-5). The form is not a new rule. It restates the qualification, experience, fitness and propriety, and insurance criteria that applicants must meet. Compliance and insolvency practice teams should use it to prepare complete, accurate applications, because false or misleading statements carry disciplinary and prosecution risk.

EIOPA's Eurofi article finds that AI adoption in European insurance is outpacing risk controls, and that systemic cyber, concentration, and third-party dependency risks are growing. It argues the EU needs rigorous implementation of DORA and the AI Act, not a new layer of AI regulation for finance. Compliance teams should expect supervisors to focus on dependency mapping, failure testing, and exit-plan validation.