Compliance & Ethics

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Wednesday released findings from its ongoing review of debanking activities at the nine largest national banks under its supervision. The review is examining whether the institutions restricted access to financial services for customers based on political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities, as directed by the President’s Executive Order Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans.

EFG Bank is facing a $1.39 million (HK$10.85 million) penalty after Hong Kong regulators found years of weaknesses in its product due diligence, record-keeping, and reporting practices. The reprimand and fine, announced jointly by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), mark another example of how closely the two regulators now coordinate when internal control failures come to light.

FinCEN has handed down a $3.5 million civil money penalty to Paxful after the peer-to-peer crypto marketplace admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act, enabling more than $500 million in suspicious transactions involving sanctioned jurisdictions and illicit actors.

Belgium’s top competition regulator has launched a formal investigation into data giant IQVIA over concerns the company may be unfairly leveraging its powerful position in the country’s pharmaceutical information market.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed a package of reforms designed to simplify insurance regulation, cut compliance costs, and give firms more flexibility, without weakening protections for smaller commercial customers.

Italy’s competition watchdog is turning up the pressure on two of the biggest names in global watchmaking. Citizen and Swatch now find themselves at the center of a high-stakes antitrust probe into whether they’ve been quietly calling the shots on retail pricing and punishing stores that don’t play along.

A religious channel that told viewers unlicensed products and prayerful outreach could fix everything from chronic illness to financial distress has been handed a £375,000 penalty by Ofcom. The regulator confirmed on 9 December 2025 that The Word Network repeatedly breached broadcasting rules, and in some cases did so even after earlier investigations had put the channel on notice.