Compliance & Ethics

The FCA has opened an investigation into whether Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd (EES) breached the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 between 1 February 2020 and 4 June 2026, focusing on risk assessment and AML policies, controls and procedures. The case follows the firm's forced cessation of regulated activity, interim managers and special administration. It shows the FCA's focus on enterprise-wide AML risk assessment and control frameworks at payment and e-money firms.

BaFin, speaking as a major Bonn employer through its President Mark Branson, joined a regional task force calling for pragmatic, coordinated action on Bonn's traffic crisis. The release is not a financial regulation and creates no supervisory obligations. Compliance teams should treat it as a non-regulatory notice with limited operational-resilience relevance, mainly for firms with staff or offices in the Bonn region.

ECB Supervisory Board member Sharon Donnery argues that integration, not deregulation, is Europe's most effective simplification strategy. She calls for converting directives into directly applicable regulations, treating the banking union as a single jurisdiction for capital and liquidity, and creating a unified reporting framework. The speech is not binding, but it signals the ECB's policy direction and where supervisory expectations and legislative proposals are likely to move.

ASIC has published Form 722, the notice a borrower must lodge under section 283BC of the Corporations Act 2001 when it appoints a trustee for debenture holders. The form must be lodged within 14 days of the appointment, and late fees apply if it is not. Compliance teams at debenture issuers should confirm that their lodgement processes, signatory authority, and fee handling are in place.

EIOPA has confirmed that undertakings should classify collective investment undertakings (CIUs) by first assessing whether the fund's prospectus and stated objective match the CIC 44 (Asset Allocation Funds) definition, rather than relying on look-through composition at the reporting date. If the fund meets that definition, it is CIC 44 regardless of its actual asset mix. If not, it defaults to CIC 42 (Debt Funds). This matters for S.06.02 reporting accuracy and consistency across reporting periods.

SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda's statement accompanies a Commission proposal to rescind Rule 14a-8, which would end the federal framework for including shareholder proposals in proxy statements and leave that question to state law, companies, and shareholders. The Commission also proposes amending Rule 14a-4 to expand discretionary voting authority and modernizing proxy solicitation rules. Compliance teams should monitor the proposals closely, because they could change shareholder engagement, proxy preparation, and governance risk management.

The FCA has published a guidance page explaining how the Treasury's new cryptoasset regulated activities fit within FSMA and the FCA Handbook. Final rules and guidance were published on 30 June 2026 and will apply to firms authorized under FSMA on or after 25 October 2027. For many cryptoasset firms this will be their first time under FSMA authorization, so compliance teams need to assess perimeter scope and begin preparing now.