Federal Activities
On December 5, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) jointly rescinded the 2013 Interagency Guidance on Leveraged Lending and the 2014 FAQs, citing that the issuances were overly restrictive, unintentionally captured some investment‑grade credits, and shifted market activity to nonbanks. The agencies noted Government Accountability Office’s determination that the 2013 guidance was a “rule” under the Congressional Review Act that was never submitted to Congress. In place of the prior guidance, banks are expected to manage leveraged lending under general safe‑and‑sound practices tailored to their risk appetite, pipeline controls, underwriting (including de‑levering capacity and refinancing risk), consistent bank‑wide definitions of “leveraged loans,” independent credit assessments for participations, and ongoing monitoring, with examiners reviewing underwriting, ratings, and reserves accordingly. The agencies said any future leveraged lending guidance will proceed through notice‑and‑comment. For more information, click here.
On December 5, the Congressional Research Service published “CFPB Budget: Background, Trends, and Policy Options,” detailing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) unique funding model, i.e., quarterly transfers from the Federal Reserve (Fed) requested by the CFPB director and subject to an employment cost index-adjusted cap, and the recent statutory change in P.L. 119-21 that reduced the cap from 12% to 6.5% of the Fed’s 2009 operating expenses (roughly $446 million for FY 2025 versus about $823 million under prior law). The report traces funding requests, obligations, unobligated balances (Bureau Fund and Civil Penalty Fund), staffing, and division-level spending growth; compares CFPB budget trends to other financial regulators; and reviews oversight and litigation, including the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling upholding the CFPB’s funding structure. It also addresses current operational constraints such as Fed net losses affecting remittances, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion on CFPB transfers, and Acting Director Russell Vought’s reliance on unobligated balances and outlines congressional policy options debated in FY 2025 reconciliation (e.g., lowering the cap, limiting Civil Penalty Fund uses), and broader proposals such as moving CFPB to annual appropriations, maintaining Dodd-Frank funding, or further restructuring the CFPB. For more information, click here.
On December 5, the OCC issued Bulletin 2025-45 updating its guidance on “venture loans” to companies in early, expansion, or late stages of development, emphasizing that the agency does not discourage prudent venture lending but expects banks’ boards and management to align activity with risk appetite and limits, underwrite and document rigorously, risk-rate accurately, and maintain sufficient reserves given higher default risks. The bulletin distinguishes venture lending from conventional cash-flow lending, SBA-guaranteed credits, and fully controlled asset-based loans; outlines key risks (unproven cash flows, investor dependence, high liquidity needs); details prudent practices (policies, qualified staff, MIS, stress testing, timely risk ratings, allowance adequacy, liquidity and capital planning for concentrations); and clarifies repayment assessments, noting uncommitted future equity raises and unrestricted, declining cash balances are not satisfactory primary repayment sources without controls, and that recurring revenue is not equivalent to sustainable repayment capacity. The OCC rescinded Bulletin 2023-34 and affirmed that venture lending should receive a 100% risk weight unless mitigated by eligible guarantees or qualifying collateral, with examiners applying safe-and-sound lending principles. For more information, click here.
On December 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the agenda and panelists for its rescheduled Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy, set for December 15 from 1–5 p.m. ET at SEC headquarters, open to the public and webcast on sec.gov. Opening remarks will feature SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, Commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce, and Crypto Task Force Chief of Staff Richard B. Gabbert. Remarks will be followed by two sessions featuring various participants and the SEC reiterated that invitations do not constitute endorsement of any projects or affiliates. For more information, click here.
On December 4, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Caroline Pham announced the first-ever trading of listed spot cryptocurrency products on U.S. federally regulated markets via CFTC-registered futures exchanges, heralding a “Golden Age of Innovation” and positioning America as the crypto capital of the world by providing safe, domestic venues with strong customer protections and market integrity. Emphasizing use of the commission’s existing authorities to deliver long-needed regulatory clarity for leveraged retail commodity trading and a shift away from regulation by enforcement, the initiative implements recommendations from the President’s Working Group through the CFTC’s Crypto Sprint (in coordination with the SEC), and includes enabling tokenized collateral (including stablecoins) in derivatives markets and a technical rulemaking to update collateral, margin, clearing, settlement, reporting, and recordkeeping rules to support blockchain-based infrastructure and tokenization. For more information, click here.
On December 4, at the SEC’s final Investor Advisory Committee meeting of the year in Washington, D.C., Chairman Paul Atkins thanked the committee and Investor Advocate Cristina Martin Firvida, emphasized making public-company status more attractive and returning the SEC to bedrock fundamentals, and outlined a modernization agenda to enable on‑chain capital markets — leveraging tokenization for trading, settlement, and direct issuer‑investor connectivity — while avoiding the prior commission’s overbroad “exchange” approach by using cabined, time‑limited, transparent exemptions with strong investor protections that distinguish decentralized protocols from centralized, on‑chain intermediaries. Commissioner Hester Peirce urged calibrated shareholder engagement (supporting standing proxy voting instructions, acknowledging arbitration provisions, and tightening Rule 14a‑8 eligibility to aligned shareholders), highlighted tokenization’s efficiency and transparency benefits alongside hard questions about market mechanics, interoperability, and the fit of rules like Regulation NMS, and, echoing Atkins, favored principles‑based, materiality‑driven disclosure over prescriptive mandates for emerging technologies such as AI to protect investors without smothering innovation. For more information, click here and here.
On December 4, the FDIC finalized a rule adjusting and indexing multiple regulatory thresholds across parts 303, 335, 340, 347, 363, and 380 to preserve their real value and avoid scope changes driven solely by inflation, with an initial effective date of January 1, 2026, and future CPI‑W based adjustments every two years (or sooner if inflation exceeds 8%), effective October 1. Key changes include raising Part 363 audit and ICFR asset thresholds to $1 billion and $5 billion, respectively (and conforming audit committee thresholds), updating insider credit disclosure materiality under Part 335 to $10 million, increasing “substantial loss” triggers to $100,000 under Parts 340 and 380, and doubling certain Part 347 foreign underwriting and dealing limits, while creating a new indexing section (Part 314) and allowing targeted exemptive relief where threshold changes would remove Part 363 obligations mid‑fiscal year. For more information, click here.
On December 4, the UK Ministry of Justice announced that the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act received Royal Assent, making England, Wales, and Northern Ireland among the first jurisdictions to recognize digital assets — such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs — as personal property, a clarification that strengthens protections for victims of theft and fraud, enables inheritance and recovery in bankruptcy, reduces costly disputes by providing legal certainty, and supports the Government’s Plan for Change to boost growth and cement the UK’s status as a global leader in legal innovation. Minister for Courts and Legal Services Sarah Sackman KC MP emphasized that the new category of property complements traditional “things in possession” and “things in action,” aligns with the Law Commission’s 2023 recommendations, and is expected to attract fintech investment and business to a £42.6 billion legal services sector employing 384,000 people. For more information, click here.
On December 4, an IMF blog post argued that centralized, asset‑backed stablecoins — mostly dollar‑denominated — are rapidly growing and increasingly intertwined with mainstream finance (the two largest tripled since 2023 to $260 billion, with 2024 trading volume reaching $23 trillion led by Asia and flows largely from North America), offering faster, cheaper cross‑border payments and broader financial inclusion, but posing material risks including runs and fire‑sales of reserves, currency substitution that erodes monetary policy and capital‑flow management, fragmentation from non‑interoperable networks, regulatory arbitrage, data gaps on cross‑border activity, and illicit finance. It emphasized that global regulatory efforts are converging toward treating stablecoins as payment instruments and called for coordinated domestic and international frameworks — clear legal status, prudential and financial‑integrity safeguards, interoperability, improved statistics, and consideration of access to central bank liquidity — while pursuing a twin track of enhancing traditional payment infrastructure and thoughtfully integrating tokenization, acknowledging that stablecoins are here to stay though their ultimate market structure remains uncertain. For more information, click here.
On December 3, the CFTC adopted the final rule “Amendments to CFTC Rules of Practice and Rules Relating to Investigations” (RIN 3038-AF44; 90 FR 55642), revising 17 CFR parts 10 and 11 to enhance transparency and efficiency in enforcement: clarifying that adjudicatory proceedings include commission orders instituting proceedings, making findings, and imposing remedial sanctions; removing obsolete references (including fax); expressly permitting acceptance of settlement offers by Commission order; and requiring that Division of Enforcement settlement recommendation memoranda be objective, comprehensive, and supported by record citations and legal authorities. The amended appendix A to part 11 specifies written notice (or written confirmation of oral notice) that identifies specific preliminary charges and may reference specific evidence, provides potential respondents at least 30 days (up from 14) to submit a sworn, ≤20‑page written response, allows requests for prompt forwarding, and requires all responses to be promptly sent to the commission. The procedural rule is effective immediately, is exempt from APA notice-and-comment, imposes no PRA burdens, has de minimis costs, and is not expected to have anticompetitive effects. For more information, click here.
On December 2, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman testified before the House Financial Services Committee that the banking system remains sound and resilient, with strong capital and liquidity, while underscoring competitive pressures from nonbanks and the need for responsible innovation and clarity around digital assets and stablecoin regulation under the GENIUS Act. She outlined priorities to tailor regulation for community banks (including updating static thresholds and modernizing BSA/AML CTR and SAR limits), proposed changes to the community bank leverage ratio and new capital options for mutual banks, and plans to streamline M&A and de novo processes. For large banks, she described a regulatory agenda spanning stress test transparency, recalibrating the supplementary leverage ratio as a backstop, finalizing Basel III with more granular mortgage capital treatment, and refining the G-SIB surcharge. On supervision, she emphasized a risk-focused, transparent approach; a proposed rule clarifying standards for unsafe or unsound practices, MRAs, and enforcement; updating the CAMELS framework and LFI ratings; ending use of “reputational risk” in supervision; and considering a rule to prohibit supervisory “debanking” based on lawful political or religious beliefs. For more information, click here.
On December 2, it was announced that the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) has hired Rohit Chopra, former director of the CFPB, to lead a new Consumer Protection and Affordability Working Group within DAGA’s policy arm. The move was announced as a coordinated, state-led response to rising living costs and widespread fraud, with a policy agenda that spans financial services, technology, and health care. Chopra will reportedly oversee a team of researchers and policymakers charged with drafting nationwide strategies that state AGs can implement. For more information, click here.
On December 2, the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by French Hill, held an oversight hearing with the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, and National Credit Union Association (NCUA) focused on streamlining regulation and reducing compliance burdens, highlighting tailored enhanced prudential standards under S. 2155, indexing community‑bank thresholds (e.g., the $10 billion Dodd‑Frank trigger) to nominal GDP, skepticism of “Basel III endgame” for harmonization’s sake, and refocusing regulators on safety and soundness rather than politicized “debanking.” Members referenced the committee’s debanking report and called for passage of CLARITY for digital assets; witnesses echoed the agenda, with Bowman supporting updates to static statutory thresholds and CTR/SAR limits, OCC’s Jonathan Gould urging modernization and ending politicized debanking, NCUA Chair Kyle Hauptman prioritizing revisions to outdated rules, and Hill outlining the agency’s rulemaking timeline to implement the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin framework, including an application rule later this month and prudential standards early next year. For more information, click here.
On December 2, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins told CNBC’s Squawk Box that the commission must ensure its rulebook is “fit for purpose,” outlining a modernization agenda to streamline capital‑markets regulation, revive IPO activity, better distinguish investing from gambling behavior, strengthen governance around proxy advisors and shareholder voting, and bring greater clarity to crypto oversight, all framed within the commemoration of America’s 250th birthday and aimed at enhancing market competitiveness while preserving investor protections. For more information, click here.
On December 1, the OCC announced it will maintain calendar year 2026 assessment rates for national banks and federal savings associations, preserving the September 2025 reductions (30% for assets up to $40 billion, 22% above $40 billion, and 22% for independent trust and independent credit card schedules). The OCC said the 2026 rates will provide sufficient resources to support a well-trained staff and technology‑enabled supervision, with the rates effective January 1, 2026, and reflected in assessments due March 31 and September 30, 2026. For more information, click here.
On December 1, the OCC, Fed, and FDIC issued a request for information seeking public input on streamlining the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) (FFIEC 031/041/051), inviting comments by January 30, 2026, on burdensome schedules and line items, potential changes to reporting frequency, alignment with institutions’ internal systems and emerging technologies, and options to further tailor or expand the short-form FFIEC 051 (including to larger institutions) while preserving safety and soundness. Comments must be submitted on or before January 30, 2026. For more information, click here.
On November 28, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert urging money services businesses to be vigilant and file suspicious activity reports (SARs) on cross-border transfers involving immigrants when transactions of $2,000 or more are known, suspected, or reasonably suspected to involve funds illicitly obtained in the U.S., including proceeds of unlawful employment. The alert, aligned with Executive Order 14159 (Protecting the American People Against Invasion), underscores heightened national security and public safety risks from cross‑border remittances and reaffirms Treasury’s commitment to safeguarding the U.S. financial system. For more information, click here.
On November 28, the CFPB published two Paperwork Reduction Act notices seeking extensions of existing information collections. The first involved the Consumer Response Intake Form (OMB Control No. 3170-0011), which enables consumers to submit complaints, inquiries, and feedback. Any comments are due January 27, 2026. The other notice involved the Consumer Complaint Intake System Company Portal Boarding Form (OMB Control No. 3170-0054), which onboards companies to the CFPB’s secure portal for viewing and responding to complaints. Comments for that notice are due by December 29. Specifically, the CFPB invites comments on the necessity, burden, clarity, and burden minimization of both forms. For more information, click here.
On November 28, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes adopted, via written procedure, the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework: 2025 Monitoring and Implementation Update, reporting that 75 jurisdictions have made political commitments to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and to commence automatic exchanges of crypto-asset information in 2027 or 2028, with 53 jurisdictions already signed onto the CARF Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement and most poised to use existing CRS infrastructure (AEOI portals and the Common Transmission System) for reporting and exchange. The update details the Global Forum’s annual “Jurisdictions of Relevance” process to ensure coverage of Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers under CARF’s broad nexus rules, outlines domestic and international legal, administrative, IT, and confidentiality requirements for implementation, and describes extensive capacity-building (model legislation, masterclasses, and technical assistance) to support timely adoption, while noting ongoing monitoring and support to deliver a level playing field for governments and business. For more information, click here.
On November 25, the House Financial Services Committee majority staff published Operation Chokepoint 2.0: Biden’s Debanking of Digital Assets, a detailed account of how, in the committee’s view, federal prudential regulators between 2021 and early 2025 discouraged banks from serving lawful digital asset businesses through informal guidance, supervisory posture, and enforcement. On December 1, Gould issued a statement largely concurring with the report’s central premise and outlining corrective actions the OCC has taken to increase transparency, retire “reputation risk” as a supervisory lever, and investigate alleged unlawful debanking by large institutions. Together, the report and the OCC’s response mark a significant shift in tone and expectations for bank engagement with crypto-assets. For more information, click here.
On November 25, the FDIC extended the compliance date for displaying the FDIC official digital sign on insured depository institutions’ digital deposit‑taking channels (12 CFR 328.5) and for analogous ATM and like‑device signage (12 CFR 328.4) from March 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027, aligning with its August 21, 2025, proposal to amend those provisions to address implementation issues and potential consumer confusion. The extension, which applies to all FDIC‑insured institutions, does not affect other Subpart A amendments from the December 20, 2023, rule, which took effect April 1, 2024, with compliance required by May 1, 2025. For more information, click here.
On November 25, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the 2026 conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acquisitions, setting the national baseline for one-unit properties at $832,750, up 3.26% or $26,250 from 2025, in line with the year-over-year increase in FHFA’s nominal, seasonally adjusted, expanded-data House Price Index. In high-cost areas, where 115% of local median home values exceed the baseline, the one-unit CLL ceiling will be $1,249,125 (150%), with special statutory limits for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands establishing the same baseline and a higher ceiling of $1,873,675. Due to rising home values, limits will increase in all but 32 counties. FHFA provided county-by-county CLLs, a national map, methodology details, and FAQs. For more information, click here.
On November 24, the FHFA set the 2026 multifamily loan purchase caps at $88 billion each for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, $176 billion combined, while requiring that at least 50% of their multifamily businesses remain mission-driven, affordable housing. Consistent with 2025, loans financing workforce housing will be excluded from the limits, with all other mission-driven loans subject to the caps. FHFA said it will continue to monitor market conditions and raise the caps if needed to ensure liquidity, but will not reduce them if the market proves smaller than projected to avoid disruption. For more information, click here.
On November 24, the OCC announced a package of supervisory and regulatory actions to reduce burden on community banks, including tailored Bank Secrecy Act/Anti‑Money Laundering (BSA/AML) examination procedures calibrated to the generally low money‑laundering and terrorist‑financing risk profiles of community banks, discontinuation of the OCC’s Money Laundering Risk (MLR) system data collection, and a request for information on barriers posed by core and other third‑party service providers. Gould emphasized the role of community banks in small‑business lending and economic growth, and noted ongoing work, including an upcoming proposal to reduce the community bank leverage ratio, aimed at streamlining risk‑based supervision and alleviating regulatory burden. For more information, click here.
On November 21, the CFPB notified staff that it will restart supervision and require examiners, beginning with the 2026 examination cycle, to open each review by reading to the supervised entity a Humility in Supervisions Pledge. The pledge signals a notable shift in tone and execution that is in line with the CFPB’s Memorandum on Supervision and Enforcement Priorities from April 2025. Specifically, examinations will now have tighter alignment to the CFPB’s statutory authority, narrower and more clearly scoped exams (with a focus on “identified priority markets”), greater transparency and predictability, and an express preference to remediate issues in Supervision rather than escalate to Enforcement. It also formalizes a renewed focus on tangible consumer harm, especially to service members, their families, and veterans, and aims to minimize duplicative oversight where states or other regulators are already active. For more information, click here.
State Activities
On December 3, Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Dave Sunday announced phase two of the national “Operation Robocall Roundup,” directing four major voice providers to crack down on illegal robocalls, citing traceback data since 2019 and hundreds of millions to over a billion estimated imposter calls (Amazon/Apple, SSA/IRS) routed across their networks. Building on August actions against 37 smaller providers, the bipartisan Anti‑Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force reported immediate results from phase one (removal of 13 companies from the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database, 19 companies no longer appearing in traceback, and multiple contract terminations with high‑risk accounts). Formed in 2022 and led by the North Carolina, Indiana, and Ohio AGs, the Task Force continues investigations and legal actions targeting entities responsible for large volumes of fraudulent robocall traffic. For more information, click here.
On November 20, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) opposed two federal efforts that would curtail state authority over AI and automated decision-making technology (ADMT): a proposed moratorium on state AI/ADMT laws reportedly being inserted into the National Defense Authorization Act and a draft executive order to create a DOJ task force to challenge state AI laws. CalPrivacy’s Executive Director Tom Kemp warned such measures would strip Californians of existing rights without providing comparable federal protections, while Deputy Director Maureen Mahoney urged recognition of states’ leadership in privacy amid rapid technological change. CalPrivacy highlighted newly finalized CCPA regulations on ADMT access and opt‑out rights as examples of state action to safeguard consumers, children, creators, and patients. For more information, click here.