The Riksbank has called for legislative preparations for a potential digital krona as the digital euro, stablecoins and geopolitical risks reshape the payments market. It has not decided to issue one, but estimates that implementation would take at least five years in addition to legislative work. A public inquiry would examine the legal framework needed if the Riksdag later authorizes issuance.

The World Bank Group announced the first DRIVE project, with the International Finance Corporation investing up to USD 50 million alongside the Japan International Cooperation Agency in an Asian clean energy infrastructure fund. The privately managed fund is targeting USD 750 million to support lower-carbon technologies, industrial transformation and energy efficiency across Southeast and South Asia.

Ireland's Department of Finance has announced statutory protections requiring insurers to disregard eligible cancer histories in mortgage protection applications for principal private residences. Applicants must have completed treatment and remained in remission for at least five years, with the protection applying to cover of up to EUR 650,000.

The Bank of England has proposed allowing CCPs to accept uncollateralised letters of credit from non-financial clearing members and clients as initial margin. Safeguards include authorised bank issuers, ongoing credit monitoring, stress testing and a 5% cap on total collateral from any single issuer. Acceptance would be optional and subject to the Bank’s permission.

ESMA reported 955 administrative sanctions and measures across the EEA in 2025, with fines totaling EUR 81.9 million. Enforcement remained concentrated under market abuse and investment services rules and in Germany, France and Spain, while settlements increased sharply. ESMA called for stronger convergence where national differences cannot be explained by market size.

A European Central Bank working paper finds that leverage constraints, collateral convenience yields and client outside options jointly determine bilateral repo haircuts. The binding leverage ratio raised haircuts for constrained dealers in collateral-driven trades but had no comparable effect in funding-driven trades. Constrained dealers also showed greater rate volatility and weaker policy rate pass-through.

A European Central Bank working paper finds that higher central bank digital currency holding limits can attract balances toward the cap, while lower limits produce offsetting behavioral effects. In an experiment with 761 participants, a reverse waterfall function raised adoption from 85.2% to 92.1% and reduced average holdings from 2.35 to 2.05 tokens.

In a new blog post, Rwanda Capital Markets Authority Head of Technology and Digital Transformation Yvon Gilbert Nishimwe called for human oversight, independent verification and clear accountability when using AI in capital markets. Issuers and intermediaries should validate AI outputs against authoritative sources, protect confidential information and retain responsibility for published content.

The South Korea Financial Services Commission reviewed increased stock market volatility linked to U.S. rate expectations, AI semiconductor uncertainty and higher oil prices. Authorities will strengthen market monitoring, prepare contingency measures and act firmly against market misconduct. Financial companies were urged to curb indiscriminate credit extension and reinforce risk management.

The National Bank of Hungary reported that Hungary’s external position weakened in the first half of 2026, with the annual current account surplus falling to 1 percent of GDP and net external debt nearing 16 percent. Four quarter net lending remained comparatively strong at 1.6 percent of GDP. International reserves exceeded EUR 60 billion, more than EUR 14 billion above short term external debt.

Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Solikin M. Juhro outlined a regional strategy that combines Islamic commercial and social finance to expand funding for MSMEs. The approach strengthens regional coordination, halal value chains and links between business needs and financing sources. Updated planning guidelines have helped 27 provinces incorporate Islamic economy development into regional plans.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched the Accountability, Resilience and Trust Framework for responsible AI adoption in banking under its Fintech 2030 strategy. It combines updated supervisory guidance and a training data sharing platform with further agentic AI testing. An upcoming discussion paper will explore accountability, a registry of material AI agents and intervention mechanisms.