The Egypt Financial Regulatory Authority will let insurers use approved standard property and liability policy forms after prior notice, without separate company-level approval. Insurers must follow the forms exactly, and any amendment still requires approval. Personal insurance and fund accumulation policies are excluded.

Kazakhstan’s finance, digital development and health ministries have proposed extending the Qalqan digital health financing pilot through Dec. 31, 2028, while aligning its terminology with the Constitution and Digital Code. Procurement and payment through Qalqan will end in 2026, followed by two years of monitoring, planning, tariff setting, volume allocation and rating assessments.

South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance has proposed easing foreign exchange controls to support won internationalization. The changes would shift several bank borrowing and won securities transactions to post-reporting, raise key won transaction thresholds to KRW 50 billion and expand cash pooling to include won with a USD 100 million ceiling. Implementation is planned by the end of 2026.

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Chairman Dr Kelvin Wong called for investor education to strengthen decision making against increasingly convincing digital fraud. He urged investors to practise financial literacy, pause before acting and question investment offers, while emphasizing shared responsibility across regulators, financial institutions, market practitioners and technology platforms.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority identified shortcomings in banks’ collateral eligibility checks, cover pool and bond register controls, and governance of mortgage credit bank operations. It will send individual supervisory letters and require affected banks to remediate the deficiencies.

The National Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan and senior IMF officials discussed priorities for continued monetary, banking and financial sector reform during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings. Topics included foreign exchange markets, reserves, supervision, systemic risk, digitalization and cybersecurity, alongside further IMF technical and advisory support.

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed transferring administration of the Philippine Green Equity Label to the Philippine Stock Exchange, including oversight of external reviewers. The transition period for taxonomy alignment would run until year-end without penalties, while full alignment would become mandatory from fiscal year 2027.

The Islamic Financial Services Board and the Islamic Development Bank Group have formalized a multi-year framework linking prudential standards with technical assistance and development financing. The partnership will support implementation capacity in member countries, research emerging risks and opportunities, and disseminate best practices in Islamic finance.

Kazakhstan’s financial market regulator has expanded mortgage refinancing eligibility for socially vulnerable borrowers and extended additional assistance to Sept. 1, 2027. Eligible borrowers must have a sole residence, more than 180 days of arrears, outstanding principal of no more than KZT 50 million and insufficient income to meet existing loan terms. The support will be financed by recycling repayments from previously refinanced loans rather than through new state funding.

The South Korea Financial Services Commission finalized a two-year deferral of residential PF equity ratio rules, with a 5% threshold starting in 2029 and rising to 20% from 2032. Nonresidential projects remain subject to the rules from 2027. Total PF exposure fell to KRW 168.8 trillion, while PF loans rose to KRW 115.8 trillion and the delinquency rate eased to 4.56%.

The International Monetary Fund warned that an AI-related market correction, a disorderly rise in sovereign yields and cyberattacks could sharply tighten global financial conditions. Banks remain broadly resilient, but stress tests classify institutions representing 22 percent of global banking assets as weak. The IMF called for tighter control of leverage, stronger bank and bond market safeguards, enhanced nonbank and cyber oversight, and robust legal and settlement frameworks for tokenized markets.

The International Monetary Fund projects global growth of 3.1 percent in 2026 and 3.4 percent in 2027, while inflation rises to 4.7 percent before easing to 4.1 percent. Resilience from AI investment and energy-market adjustment is uneven, and downside risks include prolonged conflict, commodity disruption and an AI-related market correction. The IMF urges fiscal rebuilding, targeted household support and monetary policy calibrated to country-specific inflation pressures.