FHFA chief orders Fannie and Freddie to consider crypto assets in mortgage assessments
In another sign of President Donald Trump’s focus on cryptocurrency, the head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create proposals to consider crypto assets for a single-family home mortgage.
Judge reinstates fired CPSC commissioners in latest battle over government cuts
In May, three commissioners for the Consumer Product Safety Commission were abruptly fired by President Donald Trump and sued for their jobs shortly after. A federal judge has ruled that the commissioners should be reinstated, although it’s unclear whether that ruling may itself be reversed.
EU, UK agree to reset rules on agrifoods, mergers and carbon trading as part of post-Brexit reset
Four years after Brexit, the U.K. and EU announced a “reset” that will ease barriers to importing and exporting food, drink, and agricultural produce. It may also harmonize rules around carbon emissions trading systems, simplifying compliance for multinational organizations that are large emitters, and enable more young people to gain ...
Senate confirms Olivia Trusty to FCC, handing Trump majority control
The U.S. Senate confirmed Olivia Trusty as commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, marking a shift in agency staffing that gave commissioners nominated by President Donald Trump a majority of decision-making power. The move followed resignations of two commissioners earlier this month, each of whom had been nominated ...
UK’s Failure to Prevent Fraud law may expose firms to unlimited fines and prosecution, says Moody’s compliance risk expert
Fraud now accounts for around 40% of all crime in the U.K., posing a major problem for banks and consumers. Ted Datta, head of industry practice for financial crime compliance at Moody’s, warns that the risk is growing fast.
DOJ wants less monitoring, more self-disclosure and fine reductions, Galeotti says
The Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, continuing its aggressive, pro-business stance, has revamped key, white-collar crime enforcement policies, including clarifying fine reductions in its self-disclosure program and curbing its use of monitorships.
FCA enforcement rising across sectors, experts at the Women in Compliance Summit say
Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Customs and Border Protection, are expected to significantly alter the enforcement scope of the False Claims Act to reflect the enforcement priorities of the Trump Administration, experts speaking at Compliance Week’s Women in Compliance Summit in Austin, Texas.
SEC Chair Atkins signals end to ‘regulation by enforcement’ in line with Trump’s pro-crypto agenda
The Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins explained his agency’s shift on cryptocurrency regulation to a Senate committee as legislators bargain over President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and the GENIUS Act, which would have the federal government invest heavily in cryptocurrency.
Supply chain disruptions caused by Republican policies should be managed
If you’re in third-party risk management, handling the latest disruptions brought on by wild gyrations in tariff rates and export control rules by Republican leadership ought to be child’s play.
ESG goes beyond politics: Vendor management, forced labor, sustainability
ESG is no longer in vogue. But its issues still are.
In a world filled with uncertainty, boards need to focus on connecting dots
Regulators and investors increasingly say boards of directors need more expertise to ensure they can respond to fast-changing politics, policy, and technology that threaten to undermine their businesses. In the U.K., government officials say boards need to think more about cyber. In the EU, they need to prepare for the ...
Apple, Google face compliance crossroads as states push digital safeguards
A new law in Texas will go into effect next January that requires Apple and Google to verify the age of their app store users. This marks another piece of legislation from the state level intended to protect children, and the second such law specifically from Texas to limit children’s ...
Survey: Compliance, now at the leadership table, navigates an uncertain risk landscape
At a time when the Trump administration is rewriting many of the rules, the compliance function is being embraced as a strategic partner to the C-suite and board, Compliance Week’s 2024 “Inside the Mind of the CCO” survey shows. The new objective: risk-assess the implications of Trump’s confetti of executive ...
Under intense reg scrutiny, compliance teams report implementing off-channel comms policies
Three of four respondents to Compliance Week’s Inside the Mind of the CCO survey said their employers have policies and procedures in place that govern employee use of unauthorized communications on their cell phones.
Consumer electronic supply chain at risk, FCC says in proposing new rules
Thousands of computers and other consumer electronic devices imported into the U.S. that were certified as safe by foreign laboratories have been identified as having links to the Chinese government or military, Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said Thursday in announcing an order to close the security ...
Why tight controls matter for financial content on social media, says FPC’s O’Shaughnessy
Financial Planning Corporation is a regulated financial planning firm founded 40 years ago, gaining coveted Chartered status in 2008. As the U.K. financial regulator, the FCA promises to clamp down on unregulated “finfluencers” on social media. Moira O’Shaughnessy, managing partner and head of risk and compliance at FPC, explains why ...
Not just for the rich: SEC may make closed-end funds available to retail investors
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins indicated he favors changing the agency’s requirement that only the wealthy can invest in so-called “closed-end” private equity funds and hedge funds.
Atkins: SEC has too many vacancies following job losses under Trump
The Securities and Exchange Commission has too many vacancies following efforts by the Trump Administration to reduce the overall size of the federal government, SEC Chair Paul Atkins told Congress Tuesday.
DOJ shutters FBI unit that investigated Trump and 2020 election interference
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has shuttered a special Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) unit that focused on public corruption and whose legwork led to the special counsel investigation of President Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump administration launches pressure campaign against EU Digital Services Act
The Trump administration is preparing to ask the European Union to alter or water down its rules on content moderation on social media, claiming that they hurt the competitiveness of American technology companies.
Coinbase faces a leftover SEC probe as crypto enforcement loses steam
After dismissing its lawsuit against the crypto exchange Coinbase in March, a second investigation into the exchange by the Securities and Exchange Commission has surfaced, according to a report from the New York Times. This comes as a bit of a surprise after the Trump administration has been scaling down ...
CFPB pulls data broker rule in win for industry, setback for consumer advocates
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pulled back a draft privacy rule that would have required businesses to take more steps before selling consumers’ financial and personal data.
Calls for audit reforms intensify after hackers attack Harrods and other top UK retailers
Cyberattacks on major UK retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Harrods and Co-op, left the companies scrambling to reassure customers and staff about stolen data, pushing issues of cybersecurity and cyber resilience back into the national debate. Now the question is whether compliance managers should expect more technology regulations, or will ...
With “stroke of a pen,” CFPB withdraws controversial guidance docs issued under Dems
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has rescinded 39 guidance documents that had provided insight into the regulator’s thinking on a host of topics, including enforcement practices and how companies should handle customer complaints.
New DOJ policy means heat is off corporate crime and on drug kingpins
The Department of Justice is moving the enforcement of all but the most heinous white-collar crimes onto the back burner and putting investigations of drug kingpins, illegal immigration, and sanctions evasions up front, Matthew Galeotti, head of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, said Monday.
FTC pushes back timeline for ‘Click to Cancel’ Rule, raising compliance questions
The Federal Trade Commission was set to begin enforcement of the “click to cancel” rule on May 14, but a new announcement from the agency pushed that date to July 14. As is the case with many of the regulatory decisions by the Trump administration, it’s unclear whether the agency ...
Trump EO seeks to undo federal consent orders against businesses over lending, hiring bias
Businesses under consent decrees for violating federal anti-discrimination laws, including fairness in lending and hiring laws, may be off the hook under a sweeping executive order (EO) issued by President Donald Trump last month. The EO, aimed at furthering his agenda of dismantling protections against discrimination, says all agencies “shall ...
CFPB drops Google Payment oversight, latest enforcement pullback under Trump
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continued advancing President Donald Trump’s pullback of corporate oversight last week, as it halted supervision of Alphabet’s Google Payment subsidiary. The move followed similar efforts by the Trump administration to weaken government enforcement efforts, particularly concerning digital currencies.
SEC wants to resolve long-running case against crypto firm Ripple Labs for $50M
The Securities and Exchange Commission has offered to settle its long-running lawsuit against cryptocurrency firm Ripple Labs for $50 million, the latest in a series of pullbacks by the agency on ongoing crypto lawsuits.
Q&A: Symphony general counsel Corinna Mitchell on regulators’ push for supply chain resilience
Secure, resilient communications and trading platforms are critical both to financial services firms and to governments that know their economies depend upon them, says Corinna Mitchell, General Counsel at FS digital communications provider Symphony. That’s why her company is investing more in managing rapidly evolving compliance demands from multiple regulators ...
FTC rule forces fee transparency in ticketing and lodging industries
Ticketing and short-term lodging businesses will be prohibited from hiding “convenience” and other fees from consumers under a rule by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), set to take effect next week.
Despite supporting Trump, Big Tech antitrust lawsuits gain steam
In a world where it seems like it’s Donald Trump against the rest of the world, antitrust lawsuits against tech titans may be the only area where regulators around the world agree: it’s time to break up Big Tech.
Not satisfied with gutting federal laws, Trump turns towards states
In support of President Donald Trump’s deregulation agenda, U.S. Department of Justice sued four states in its ongoing attempt to derail state efforts to force energy companies to pay for damage they caused to the environment.
Why the benefits of bilingual digital accessibility go beyond compliance
Bilingual accessibility and security are key issues for Graham Rivers-Brown, digital transformation director responsible for internal and client compliance at digital transformation consultancy Empyrean Digital. He explains why being based in Wales has helped his company develop compliance expertise that gives it an unusual competitive advantage.
Delayed UK antitrust case underscores compliance, reputational risks
Antitrust infringement cases in the United Kingdom can run on for years, but there’s a question whether issuing fines that are dwarfed by the revenues of those organisations involved is a worthy deterrent—particularly if they are imposed over a decade after the misconduct ended. It’s also debatable whether the first ...
Despite uncertainty, whistleblowers still have incentives to report misconduct
Whistleblowing in the United States is being buffered by uncertainty from regulators who are backing off policing corruption and consumer protections. Regulators like the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are being thrown into disarray by layoffs and restructuring. Still, whistleblowers will likely continue coming forward.
How to convince companies about compliance during deregulation
At some point, many compliance professionals say they’ve met an executive who approached their role dismissively. “I don’t want to talk about anything that doesn’t bring money in the door,” one attendee remembers a senior executive saying to them.
Trickle of CFPB lawsuit dismissals poised to become a flood
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has quickly become one of the most active agencies advancing the Trump administration’s pullback on prosecuting corporations, as it dropped yet another consumer protection lawsuit against a financial services company Wednesday.
Directors should be more accountable for failure, while also taking more risks, says U.K. regulator
Director accountability is back in the spotlight in the U.K., even as the government pushes for regulatory simplification to cut red tape and drive growth. This raises questions about how boards can be encouraged to take risks to grow their businesses while also being held more accountable for governance failings. ...
UK’s deregulation drive raises compliance risk, say top lawyers
The United Kingdom’s latest effort to encourage regulators to pare down rules to attract companies and investment as a way to stimulate the economy has received mixed reviews from lawyers.
Is Google headed for a breakup? Second federal judge calls it a monopoly
A federal judge has ruled that Google “willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts” in the advertising technology industry, the latest antitrust setback in what could become a string of losses for tech companies.
AI regulation: U.K. sits on regulatory fence between U.S. and E.U.
The U.K. has pressed pause on artificial intelligence regulation as its government comes under twin pressures from those who fear the growing power of unregulated AI and the overriding need to generate growth. The postponement of long-expected legislation means that the U.K. is left sitting on the fence between federal ...
Senate Democrats urge DOJ to revive crypto crime unit amid growing enforcement concerns
A small band of Senate Democrats is calling on the Trump administration to reinstate the cryptocurrency investigations unit at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Trump is making it harder for whistleblowers. That’s a problem for corporate America
As U.S. President Donald Trump takes a wrecking ball to the norms, rules, and laws that have governed the United States for decades, whistleblowing as we know it – a way to right wrongs, call out misconduct and hold people accountable – may be under threat.
Trump family buys into crypto as regulators consider soft touch on the industry
Any doubts that the new administration will take a light touch to upcoming cryptocurrency regulation vanished with President Donald Trump’s launch of his own stablecoin and his family’s growing investments in crypto businesses.
Banks reported more than $1 B in suspicious activity–much of it fentanyl linked
Banks alerted authorities to $1.4 billion in suspicious transactions in 2024, a big assist in the nation’s fight against crime and fentanyl trafficking, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
U.K. aims to streamline regulation to boost economic growth as markets fall
The U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has promised a “radical action plan” to cut the cost of regulation to businesses by a quarter and boost economic growth. Now the Cabinet Office has written to government departments requiring them to justify every quango, with the presumption that these semipublic ...
Trump attempts to block state climate laws with executive order
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order slamming state-led efforts to address climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related laws.
New cybersecurity requirements fast approaching for New York financial firms
Many financial firms have mere days to notify New York about whether they have complied with the state’s strict cybersecurity regulations, and to gear up for new requirements rolling out May 1 and beyond.
FCA faces criticism for email retention policy critics say risks erasing evidence
The UK’s financial regulator has come under fire for its announcement that it is going to delete emails after a year in an effort to become a more “efficient” regulator, raising concerns that it might accidentally erase evidence in the process.