The Oman Financial Services Authority briefed securities firms, capital market institutions and issuers on implementing the new Executive Regulation of the Securities Law. The symposium covered licensing and capital standards, client asset segregation, investment funds, supervisory reporting, disclosure and insider controls. Participant questions will inform detailed rules to be issued subsequently.

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions finalized supplemental guidance for all FMIs on managing general business risks and losses. FMIs should hold liquid net assets funded by equity equal to at least the greater of recovery and orderly wind-down costs or six months of current operating expenses. The guidance also addresses risk assessment, equity-raising plans, board oversight and participant disclosures.

US Federal Reserve Board analysis found that semiliquid retail fund assets increased from USD 15 billion in 2018 to USD 388 billion in 2025. Private credit now represents 49.5% of interval fund holdings and 93.4% of non-traded business development company portfolios. The growth could amplify redemption pressures and make private market credit more sensitive to retail investor behavior and valuation uncertainty.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange listing of cash settled, European style binary options based on specified issuer KPIs. The standardized contracts will be National Market System securities and subject to existing exchange trading and investor protection rules. The order does not preclude Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction over differently structured KPI contracts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will investigate potential consumer harm and legal violations linked to debanking practices identified by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at nine large national banks. The review will assess restrictions based on political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities under federal credit reporting, fair lending and consumer protection laws.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found that all nine largest national banks it supervises maintained policies between 2020 and September 2025 that may have encouraged or influenced service restrictions based on beliefs or lawful business activities. It cited vague reputation risk standards and restrictions affecting sectors including fossil fuels, firearms and digital assets. The agency is assessing further regulatory and supervisory changes for the largest banks.

The National Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan and the IFC discussed reforms to expand SME finance and innovative financial services. Priorities included factoring and reverse factoring, a national electronic financing platform, instant payments, electronic money regulation and payment services legislation.

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets has set thresholds and fines for investment firms that fail to report substantial MiFIR transaction reporting deficiencies. The starting fine is EUR 25,000 for a first violation and EUR 50,000 for a second within five years. Periodic checks will assess whether firms are voluntarily reporting incidents.

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets has updated its administrative fining policy, effective Oct. 15, 2026, to provide greater scope for tailored penalties. For more serious cases involving larger companies, turnover based fines will start at three to 10 times the base amount depending on company size, subject to possible proportionality reductions.

The Egypt Financial Regulatory Authority and Tunisia’s Microfinance Supervisory Authority discussed stronger oversight of enterprise finance, including risk management, compliance, customer protection and digital supervision. Egypt’s outstanding financing for medium, small and microenterprises exceeded EGP 101 billion in the second quarter of 2026, serving about 3.5 million customers. The authorities also reviewed affordability, collections, identity verification, pricing oversight and technology enabled financial products.

Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Khalid Humaidan chaired talks between GCC central bank governors and People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng. The meeting covered investment ties, payment systems and broader financial cooperation, with digital payments identified as a key opportunity.