Good morning. Nearly four years ago, I returned to the SEC as a Commissioner. That timeframe roughly corresponds to when a particular cohort of individuals were named to the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee and began their terms. Today is the final Committee meeting for this cohort, who will complete their terms in the near future: Brian Schorr, Paul Roye, Colleen Honigsberg, James Andrus, Gina-Gail Fletcher, Christine Lazaro, Andrew Park, and Dr. David Rhoiney. Thank you for your service to the Committee and the investing public. I appreciate the significant time and effort that each of you have put into being a member of the Committee. Today’s meeting will have panel discussions on public company disclosure reforms and fund proxy voting. Regulation S-K is the core public company disclosure framework governing non-financial information. Over the decades, Regulation S-K has ballooned into a laundry list of requirements that are sometimes duplicative, outdated, or immaterial. Last year, Commission staff were instructed to start a comprehensive review of Regulation S-K and solicited public input as part of the Commission’s efforts to modernize these long-standing disclosure requirements. I do not think that many people appreciate the significant effort it takes to provide good disclosure. It is much more than simply writing sentences on a document. For every disclosure, there are controls, procedures, documentation, and approvals that stand behind them. It is not a costless exercise. Thus, it is timely for the Committee to have a discussion on public company disclosure, especially as to what reforms might reduce unnecessary burdens on public companies without compromising investor protection and capital formation. Today’s second panel will discuss fund proxy voting. Satisfying the quorum requirement has long been a challenge for funds, particularly when many retail investors hold their fund shares through intermediaries such as investment advisers or broker‑dealers. The rising costs associated with conducting fund proxy campaigns ultimately fall on fund shareholders and reduce fund performance. A well‑functioning proxy voting system is needed to ensure that funds can take actions in the interest of shareholders, such as adding board members, amending fundamental policies, or pursuing certain fund mergers to reduce expenses. I look forward to hearing your ideas on practical ways to modernize the fund proxy voting framework and the role the SEC should play in that effort. Lastly, the Committee will be considering a draft recommendation on the tokenization of equity securities. This recommendation follows the Committee’s discussion of this issue at its last meeting in December. Throughout its history, the SEC has witnessed financial innovation that the federal securities laws did not originally contemplate. In the 1970s, money market funds emerged as a instrument to deal with the sky-high interest rates, prompting the Commission to issue exemptive relief until these products were ultimately codified in Rule 2a‑7. A similar pattern followed with ETFs, which began as a way to provide investors with intraday liquidity. For years, the Commission granted individual exemptions to allow ETFs to operate until adopting Rule 6c‑11. Tokenization of equity securities may be the next example of an innovation that could bring significant benefits to investors but does not fit neatly into the existing regulatory framework. I appreciate the Committee’s efforts to recognize that the advent of new technologies means that our rules may need to evolve but keeping in mind the goals of protecting investors and maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets. Thank you to the Committee members and the panelists for your time in preparing for this meeting. I look forward to the discussions to follow.

Thank you, Brian [Schorr]. And thank you to the Committee and panelists for graciously giving of your time today at this first Investor Advisory Committee meeting of 2026. I am sorry that it also is the last IAC meeting for James Andrus, Gina-Gail Fletcher, Colleen Honigsberg, Christine Lazaro, Andrew Park, Dr. David Rhoiney, Paul Roye, and Brian Schorr. Thank you for devoting your time, expertise, energy, and service to help improve our capital markets for the benefit of American investors. As Chairman Atkins noted earlier this week,[1] March 9th was the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The book reflects Smith’s classical liberalism, which is relevant to the Commission’s work and hence to yours as you advise us in ours. Smith’s version of liberalism liberates and celebrates the individual who contributes to society. Economist Maryann Keating explained that the resulting “[p]olicy principles for constructive reform” are not “those of utilitarian dreamers who seek to change human nature and control outcomes,” but rather “Adam Smith’s system prioritizes the liberty to act in congruence with an individual’s natural sense of morality and societal norms” and “a nation granting people the liberty to pursue immeasurable personal goals increases the probability of attaining outcomes that increase individual and aggregate well-being.”[2] In his own words, Smith warned: “The statesman, who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume an authority which could be safely trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it.”[3] A humbling admonition for a regulator! But a regulator I am, and so let me turn to the topic of the first panel—public company disclosure reform. The SEC requires companies to spend a lot of time and attention preparing disclosures that may obfuscate rather than add to the mix of information on which investors rely. Certain mandated executive compensation tables, for example, are about as interesting to investors as the chart on the bounties paid on herring from 1771 to 1781 appended to the end of the Wealth of Nations.[4] The laundry list of disclosure obligations public companies face is long, and I welcome your thoughts on how we can pare it back. I am pleased that, in its second panel, the Committee is taking up the important issue of fund proxy voting. A discussion on and potential solutions regarding funds’ difficulty in obtaining a quorum for votes on certain matters under the Investment Company Act of 1940 is overdue. The generally required quorum of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of a fund to approve many changes is difficult and costly[5] for funds. Many fund shareholders are retail investors,[6] and they are much less likely to vote than institutional investors.[7] I look forward to hearing the investor perspective on possible solutions posited by the industry. As part of this panel, the Committee will discuss fund proxy reform in the context of, among other things, investor choice in a fund’s stewardship of issuer proxies. As you discuss this issue, I hope you will keep in mind that the proxy vote belongs to the fund, not to any individual shareholder in the fund. If the fund delegates voting power to its adviser, the adviser must exercise it in the interests of the fund and that fund alone. I look forward to the continued discussion of securities tokenization. Last meeting’s tokenization conversation was helpful, and I hope that today’s discussion of the draft recommendation will be equally useful. Genuine, public discussion among Committee members of these difficult and important issues informs the Commission’s own consideration of the issue. Competing views should be expressed and discussed before a vote is taken. As Chairman Atkins and I discussed recently,[8] Commission staff is working on an innovation exemption to facilitate limited trading of certain tokenized securities—much narrower than the “blanket” exemption mentioned in the draft recommendation. Within this narrower vision, I would appreciate the Committee’s consideration of several key questions I have about the Committee’s positions and draft recommendations for an innovation exemption that both protects investors and enables firms to experiment and innovate with blockchain and tokenization technology. 1.         The draft suggests that mandatory disclosures should seek to provide investors in tokenized securities with a clear understanding of their ownership rights. How are the SEC’s existing issuer disclosure requirements insufficient in this regard? 2.         Does the Committee believe that broker-dealers and clearing agencies that tokenize security entitlements should be subject to new disclosure requirements relating to such security entitlements? If so, why should tokenized security entitlements be treated differently than security entitlements that are not tokenized? 3.         The draft states that allowing for the atomic settlement of tokenized equity securities requires exemptive relief or reforms to the SEC's existing T+1 settlement rules. Can you clarify why you believe relief or reforms would be necessary for transactions that settle faster than T+1? Would atomic settlement face friction under other existing SEC rules? 4.         The draft posits that intermediaries for tokenized securities should be regulated and that the trading of tokenized equity securities should be subject to protections that seek to ensure that all investors receive the best terms for their orders. What if there are no intermediaries to regulate? One of the beauties of this technology is the ability to transact without intermediaries. Or, if there are intermediaries, what if they do not clearly fit within the existing intermediary definitions in the Exchange Act (e.g., broker, dealer, exchange, clearing agency)? Does the SEC have statutory authority to impose the requirements that the draft recommends in such cases? 5.         Should the Commission consider allowing different tokenization models in an innovation exemption to help inform their risks, benefits, and regulatory treatment? Should an innovation exemption require a third party to obtain issuer consent to issue tokenized versions of existing equity securities of that issuer? 6.         What conditions should apply in an innovation exemption to preserve the fundamental investor protections listed in the recommendation and to minimize regulatory arbitrage? Again, thank you all for your participation in today’s discussions. Thank you also to Marc Sharma, Adam Moore, Adam Anicich, and Charles Kwon for their work with the Committee.  [1] Chairman Paul S. Atkins, Remarks at the 45th Annual Small Business Forum (Mar. 9, 2026), available at https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-remarks-small-business-forum-030926. [2] Mary Keating, The Soul of Adam Smith’s Classical Liberalism (May 17, 2023), available at https://www.adamsmithworks.org/documents/keating-adam-smith-soul-classical-liberalism. [3] Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) (“Wealth of Nations”) at 247, available at http://gesd.free.fr/smith76bis.pdf. [4] Id. at 384-385. [5] See Investment Company Institute, Confronting the Growing Burden of Fund Proxy Campaigns: Analysis of Recent Fund Campaigns and Policy Solutions  (Mar. 2026) (“ICI Fund Proxy Analysis”) at 1, available at https://www.ici.org/system/files/2026-03/26-confronting-growing-burden-fund-proxy-campaigns.pdf. [6] See Investment Company Institute, 2025 Investment Company Fact Book: A Review of Trends and Activities in the Investment Company Industry (65 ed., 2025) at 22, available at https://www.ici.org/system/files/2025-05/2025-factbook.pdf (“These funds [registered investment companies] managed $39.2 trillion in total net assets at year-end 2024, largely on behalf of more than 125 million US retail investors.”).      [7] See ICI Fund Proxy Analysis at 6 (“Retail investors are far less likely to vote proxies than institutional investors.”). [8] Chairman Paul S. Atkins and Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, Number Go Down and Other Schadenfreude (Feb. 18, 2026), available at  https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-peirce-021826-number-go-down-other-schadenfreude.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our first Investor Advisory Committee meeting of the year. Before I make some opening remarks, let me offer the customary disclaimer that the views I express here are my own as Chairman and not necessarily those of the SEC as an institution or of the other Commissioners. Of course, I should also like to acknowledge those of you for whom today marks your final IAC meeting. This Committee has an important mission to give considered input to the Commission. I am grateful for the service that you have given—and for the contributions that you have made. In just a few moments, your first panel will discuss ways in which we can reduce unnecessary disclosure burdens, which have increased dramatically in recent decades. At a high level, achieving what I often call the “minimum effective dose of regulation” requires the Commission to follow a few ideals. First is rationalizing. Our rules should be sensible and disciplined, with materiality as our north star. Second, these requirements must scale with a company’s size and maturity. Balancing disclosure obligations with a company’s ability to bear the burdens of compliance is especially important where Congress has directed the SEC to promulgate a disclosure rule whose costs may fall unevenly or be completely askew. And for newly public companies, the SEC should consider building upon the “IPO on-ramp” that Congress established in the JOBS Act. For example, allowing companies to remain on the “on-ramp” for a minimum number of years, rather than forcing them off as soon as the first year after the initial offering, could provide companies with greater certainty and incentivize more IPOs, especially among smaller companies. A third theme involves the SEC’s tendency to regulate indirectly, or set expectations for, matters of corporate governance through so-called “comply or explain” disclosure requirements. Absent a clear congressional directive, it is not the SEC’s role to enforce evolving notions of “best practice” governance standards through what I consider “regulation by shaming.” Our mandate is disclosure rooted in materiality, not to enforce governance orthodoxy by embarrassment. These decisions, of course, should be left ultimately to shareholders and their directors to sort out according to the aspects of their company. Later today, your second panel will then focus on the persistent challenges that publicly offered funds face in obtaining a quorum for shareholder meetings. As retail patterns evolve and the intermediated nature of account structures complicate outreach, attaining that threshold has become more difficult and more costly. The Commission is attuned to these dynamics, and I look forward to the panel’s insights on potential avenues for modernization that preserve investor protections. Finally, the Committee will vote on recommendations regarding the tokenization of equity securities. I want to thank the IAC for engaging thoughtfully with this topic, as well as for your recognition that tokenization can enhance settlement efficiency, reduce settlement risk, and eliminate unnecessary intermediaries. As I have previously discussed, I expect the Commission to soon consider an innovation exemption to facilitate limited trading of certain tokenized securities with an eye toward developing a long-term regulatory framework.[1] To help inform our work in this area and to provide for robust public input, our Crypto Task Force has hosted several roundtables, met with hundreds of market participants, solicited broad public feedback, and received scores of written input submissions over the past thirteen months on how best to calibrate our rules to new and novel types of trading.[2][3][4] We continue to welcome comments on the design of a potential innovation exemption, which would be limited in time and scope, but long enough so that we can craft more durable rules that harness the full potential of these new technologies. With that, I want to close where I began, which is by thanking you for your service on this Committee—especially our departing members. Your work here has been careful and rigorous. You have given the Committee the benefit of your experience, with the interests of investors foremost in your minds. And I know that while public service of this kind rarely draws headlines, it very much strengthens the foundations on which our markets depend. So, each of you has my sincere thanks—and best wishes for today’s meeting and in the endeavors that lie ahead. Thank you. [1] https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-peirce-021826-number-go-down-other-schadenfreude [2] https://www.sec.gov/featured-topics/crypto-task-force/crypto-task-force-written-input [3] https://www.sec.gov/featured-topics/crypto-task-force/crypto-task-force-roundtables [4] https://www.sec.gov/featured-topics/crypto-task-force/crypto-task-force-meetings

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) has published new guidance that will allow Order Execution Only (OEO) dealers to expand the range of decision-making supports they can offer to clients. The new guidance gives dealers the flexibility to innovate and better serve clients’ needs and empowers do-it-yourself (DIY) investors to make independent, well-informed investment decisions, while ensuring the necessary safeguards are in place to maintain and enhance investor protection. Public consultations on the previous guidance revealed a growing industry consensus that the limitations on decision-making supports being offered by OEO firms were preventing important information and warnings from reaching DIY investors, who are increasingly turning to unregulated sources such as online forums, social media and finfluencers to help them make important investment decisions. As part of its commitment to enabling greater access to regulated advice, CIRO identified updating the previous guidance on OEO account services as a priority for 2026. “The new OEO guidance is a major step forward for both the industry and investors,” said Alexandra Williams, Senior Vice-President, Strategy, Innovation, and Stakeholder Protection at CIRO. “It enables dealer members to provide more decision‑making supports, including timely, relevant educational resources, notifications, and alerts tailored to client needs. For investors, it means access to high‑quality tools from reputable, regulated sources to ultimately enhance their protection.” The new guidance broadens the range of decision-making supports that OEO dealers can offer to clients without violating the rule that prohibits them from making recommendations. While the previous guidance restricts OEO dealers from providing communications that could “reasonably be expected to influence” investors, the new guidance clarifies that OEO dealers are allowed to provide informative resources and decision-making supports to clients as long as they do not endorse a specific investment decision and are provided with adequate safeguards. The new guidance adopts a principle-based approach, outlining a non-exhaustive set of decision-making supports that OEO dealers can provide, along with a non-exhaustive list of corresponding safeguards they should consider. Decision-making supports can include: Alerts and notifications; Self-help tools; Educational information. Key safeguards include: Providing clear disclosures and disclaimers; Using clear descriptors, transparent and objective criteria; Addressing or avoiding material conflicts of interest; and Performing regular monitoring and updates. The new OEO guidance is posted on CIRO’s website.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published its takeaways from the 2025 Call for Evidence (CfE) on the retail investor journey. Taking into account the input from stakeholders, ESMA outlines a number of actions and operational improvements it will take forward to make it easier for retail investors to access suitable investment opportunities.   ESMA will focus on three areas: streamlining disclosure requirements and tackling information overload for investors; reducing complexity in suitability and appropriateness assessments; simplifying MiFID II requirements on sustainability preferences. As part of this follow up work, consumer testing will be used to inform and validate improvements to disclosures and digital investor journeys, including for mobile-first users. Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, said:  “Enhancing the investor journey is one of ESMA’s flagship projects to facilitate simplification and reduce burden for participants in financial markets. ESMA will take forward concrete work to make it easier for retail investors to participate in the EU capital markets.  This work must remain a priority and requires ESMA to work in a joint effort with market participants, the European Commission, co‑legislators and national governments to improve retail investor access.” Responses indicate that retail investors encounter multiple regulatory and non‑regulatory barriers when starting to invest. There is therefore not one magic solution to make the EU’s capital markets more accessible. Stakeholders highlighted the following aspects to be addressed: Disclosures: too long, too complex, not digital-first. Stakeholders support the need for appropriate disclosures but find them not sufficiently effective due to volume, complexity, and fragmentation of information. They call for clearer and layered information, delivered in mobile-friendly formats. Suitability and appropriateness assessments: valuable but heavy. Stakeholders value the investor protection benefits of suitability and appropriateness requirements, but ask for simplification and proportionality, particularly for simple products and those distributed through digital channels. Many also consider the integration of sustainability preferences as being overly complex.  Beyond regulation: trust, costs, and taxes matter. Respondents also highlighted several non-regulatory obstacles to investing: lack of trust, high fees and limited comparability of products, low financial literacy and cultural factors, and complex taxation, especially for cross-border investments. Next steps       The report will guide ESMA’s future technical advice on MiFID II delegated acts and potential updates to its guidelines, ensuring alignment with the final outcome of the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS). Related Documents DateReferenceTitleDownloadSelect 12/03/2026 ESMA35-243228190-7410 Report on the retail investor journey: understanding retail participation in capital markets 12/03/2026 ESMA35-243228190-8126 ESMA sets out actions to simplify the retail investor journey and make investing more accessible - Press release

At the FSB Cross-border Payments summit, FSB Chair Andrew Bailey renews commitment to the goals of the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, urging intensified action from authorities and the industry. The FSB will ask its members to develop action plans, identifying practical steps and priorities for enhancing payment systems within their jurisdictions and at broader regional level. The Institute of International Finance and Swift also outlined initiatives aimed at supporting progress towards the Roadmap’s goals. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) held the FSB Cross-border Payments Summit today in London to take stock of efforts to make cross border payments cheaper, faster, more transparent and more accessible. Hosted by the Bank of England, the Summit brought together senior policymakers and industry leaders to kick off a new implementation phase of the work. “There are few issues in our responsibilities that have as universal a reach as cross‑border payments”, said Andrew Bailey, Chair of the FSB, in his opening speech. “The clear message from today’s Summit is that we are not stopping until the job of making a genuine difference to the user experience of cross-border payments is done. Strong commitment and collective action from both the public and private sector are essential for delivering on the Roadmap’s goals.” The next phase of work will focus on two key aspects: encouraging the development of jurisdictional and regional action plans by public authorities to drive domestic and regional implementation; and the promotion of private-sector action and closer private-public collaboration, with industry playing a decisive role in delivering real benefits for end users. At the Summit, participants discussed public and private-sector initiatives undertaken so far to advance the Roadmap’s goals, explored ways to accelerate implementation to ensure progress as the end-2027 deadline approaches, and discussed the future of the cross-border payments ecosystem. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) committed to working with its members throughout 2026 to assess how the external environment has changed since the Roadmap was first published in 2020 and how the Roadmap may need to evolve in response. “The operating environment has shifted, and progress has been made in important areas of cross-border payments”, said Tim Adams, CEO of the IIF. “We have new options for sending payments, enabled by new technologies, while, at the same time, growing payments fraud requires security to retake a prominent place in the agenda.” The IIF will produce a report later this year with the findings of its assessment and industry recommendations for a path forward for the G20 cross-border payments agenda. The IIF will convene stakeholders alongside the upcoming IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings to kick off this work. Swift is driving global industry action. Currently, 75% of payments reach beneficiary banks in just 10 minutes, with many arriving in seconds. Last week, Swift announced that banks would introduce a new retail payments framework by June, ensuring consumer payments over Swift benefit from the fastest possible speeds, cost certainty and end-to-end transparency. In parallel, Swift is creating infrastructure for the future by integrating a shared, blockchain-based ledger, initially targeting 24/7 real-time cross-border payments. Javier Pérez-Tasso, CEO of Swift, said: “We’ve driven significant improvements since the G20 targets were introduced, especially between banks. And now we’re taking that a step further, innovating and collaborating with both the public and private sectors to drive unified action on improving the end-to-end payments experience.” “Without genuine public-private collaboration, the G20 Roadmap risks remaining just an agenda. Our goal is real-world outcomes, at system level”, emphasised Fabio Panetta, Governor of the Bank of Italy and Co-Chair of the FSB’s Cross-border Payments Coordination Group, in his closing remarks, Mr Panetta underscored the importance of joint action to modernise payment infrastructures, foster greater harmonisation and interoperability, and leverage technology to enhance transparency and compliance automation. “We should never lose sight of the human dimension: every improvement in speed, transparency and cost efficiency translates into meaningful and tangible enhancements to people’s lives. That is a key reason why this work matters.” Background In 2020, the FSB, in coordination with the CPMI and other relevant international organisations and standard-setting bodies, developed the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments, at the request of the Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency. In 2023, the FSB, in collaboration with the CPMI, prioritised the actions that were considered to be most impactful in progressing towards the G20 Roadmap goals, with the aim of achieving significant improvements by the end of 2027. The FSB coordinates at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies and develops and promotes the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory, and other financial sector policies in the interest of financial stability. It brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability in 24 countries and jurisdictions, international financial institutions, sector-specific international groupings of regulators and supervisors, and committees of central bank experts. The FSB also conducts outreach with approximately 70 other jurisdictions through its six Regional Consultative Groups. The FSB is chaired by Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England. The FSB Secretariat is located in Basel, Switzerland and hosted by the Bank for International Settlements. Related Information 12 March 2026 Reforming Cross-border payments: keynote speech at the FSB Payments Summit In a keynote speech at the FSB Payments Summit, Andrew Bailey, Chair of the Financial Stability Board, sets out what more the private sector, public authorities and international bodies need to do to achieve the G20's goals on cross-border payments. Enhancing Cross-border Payments: Stage 3 roadmap A roadmap to address the key challenges faced by cross-border payments.

Deutsche Börse Group has reached another milestone in its Acquisition of Allfunds: the required shareholder approvals of Allfunds were successfully obtained today.  The requisite majority of Scheme Shareholders approved the Scheme at the Court Meeting, and the requisite majority of Allfunds Shareholders passed the Special Resolution at the General Meeting, with over 99.9 percent by value of votes cast in favor of the Scheme and the Special Resolution at those meetings. The Acquisition is being implemented by means of a UK court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement and is subject to the terms and conditions set out in the circular in relation to the Scheme Document sent to Allfunds Shareholders dated 16 February 2026. Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to, amongst other matters, receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in the first half of 2027. The full text of the Allfunds announcement relating to the Allfunds shareholder approvals, including the results of voting at the Court Meeting and the General Meeting, can be found here www.deutsche-boerse.com/allfunds-offer

Lenders and brokers in the second charge mortgage market need to consider how they advise customers, assess affordability and charge fees.   An FCA review has found that weaknesses in some firms’ practices could put borrowers, particularly those consolidating debt, at increased risk of financial harm. Second charge mortgages are often used by customers with high existing levels of debt and low financial resilience. The FCA’s review found examples of good practice across the sector but also issues that raise concerns about whether firms are meeting expectations, including under the Consumer Duty. The issues identified in the review include:  Affordability assessments that appeared to overlook key living expenses.  Advice that steered customers towards debt consolidation when it was not clear if it was appropriate.  Inadequate record keeping.   Unclear fees, often added to loans, making comparisons difficult. David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA, said: 'The second charge market is relied on by people often already heavily in debt. It’s vital it works well, but we’ve found that standards are not always where they need to be. This needs to change.'   The FCA is calling on all second charge firms to consider the findings carefully and take appropriate action. Brokers for the wider mortgage market should consider the findings, especially on record keeping and quality assurance, and whether they can make improvements. The regulator has continued its engagement with the firms included in the review to ensure shortcomings are addressed. While the regulator has already seen some of the market act on its calls to improve customer understanding, over the next year it will:    Continue to work with firms to drive improvements across the second charge market  Keep monitoring second charge firms and take action where it has concerns – using the full range of regulatory powers where needed  Begin to consider any mortgage policy changes needed to support good outcomes for consumers consolidating debt.  Background Read Second charge mortgages – improving outcomes for consumers. Second charge mortgages let homeowners borrow extra money using the equity in their home, without having to change their existing mortgage.  Second charge mortgages make up a small proportion of the total mortgage market - typically less than 4% of regulated mortgage sales.  We have published our new Regulatory Priorities Retail Mortgages report, which sets out key actions firms should take over the next year, plus the areas we’ll be focusing on.    The FCA enables a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy. Find out more about the FCA. 

Connamara Technologies, a leading provider of custom software solutions by capital markets experts, is pleased to announce engaging Exactpro, an independent software testing and development services specialist, for third-party testing of its EP3® platform. EP3 is a high-performance exchange and clearinghouse platform that currently powers thirteen exchanges and three clearinghouses worldwide, supporting trading across traditional and emerging asset classes. A fully-integrated end-to-end platform, EP3 offers a 24/7 operation capability and extensible customisation options to serve a wide range of new and existing fintech use cases. By introducing an independent testing partner, Connamara aims to further strengthen EP3’s robustness, scalability and operational resilience, ensuring the platform meets the stringent demands of modern exchanges, clearing venues and alternative trading systems. The engagement also aims to help the Texas-based, global technology operator define a baseline for the next stage of evolution of its core platform and obtain a consolidated and easily executable test library. The engagement will see Exactpro deliver an independent testing programme covering functional and non-functional testing of the core EP3 platform across services, components, and integrations. Leveraging two decades of experience in the industry, testing high-throughput, low-latency trading systems, the Exactpro team is tasked with exercising EP3 under a set of performance scenarios and associated metrics that Connamara can benchmark against for business and regulatory compliance purposes.  James Downs, Co-Founder and CEO of Connamara, commented: ‘Engaging an experienced independent specialist like Exactpro reinforces our commitment to delivering reliable and production-ready exchange technology to more industry participants and jurisdictions. As EP3 continues to expand to new markets and asset classes, rigorous third-party testing provides additional assurance to our clients and stakeholders.’ Thomas H. Toller, Managing Director, Exactpro US, added: ‘Matching engines and other market infrastructure platforms require stability, scalability and reliability to support trading and post-trade functions as market volumes grow. We are pleased to provide the team at Connamara Technologies with independent testing services to help support the next stage of the EP3 evolution. Exactpro will apply its risk-based testing methodology and AI-enabled automation frameworks to simulate realistic market conditions, stress scenarios and peak trading volumes. We will work hard to provide the information Connamara Technologies needs to evolve the platform further and serve more use cases and markets.’

Euronext: WLN] (the “Company” or “Worldline”), a leading European operator of critical infrastructure and payment services, announces today the launch of a share capital increase with preferential subscription rights open to all its shareholders for a gross amount of c. €392 million (including issue premium) (the “Rights Issue”), which is the final step of its c. €500 million share capital increase, and follows the c. €108 million reserved capital increases (the “Reserved Capital Increases”) completed on 10 March 2026. Terms of the transaction  c.€392 million Rights Issue size Subscription ratio: 6 new shares for 1 existing share Subscription price: €0.202 per new share Theoretical value of the preferential subscription right: €1.045 Rights trading period: from 13 March to 25 March 2026, inclusive Subscription period: from 17 March to 27 March 2026, inclusive Commitments from Bpifrance Participations, Crédit Agricole S.A. (via Delfinances1) and BNP Paribas (the “Strategic Investors”) to subscribe up to a total amount of c. €135 million, on a pro rata basis (à titre irréductible), in proportion to their respective shareholding in the Company’s share capital (following completion of the Reserved Capital Increases) and for an aggregate additional amount of approximately €29 million which may be fulfilled, in whole or in part, to facilitate the execution of the Rights Issue Commitment from Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel as a new investor in the Company. Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel has agreed to purchase from SIX Group AG all of the preferential subscription rights attached to SIX Group AG’s shares in the Company and to exercise such rights on a not subject to reduction basis (à titre irréductible) to subscribe to 179,121,174 New Shares for an amount of c. €36 million. The net proceeds of the Rights Issue and the Reserved Capital Increases will be used to strengthen the Group’s capital and financial structure and support its North Star 2030 ambition for a return to growth and strong cash flow generation. Key terms of the Rights Issue The Rights Issue will be carried out with shareholders’ preferential subscription rights, and will result in the issuance of 1,939,508,682 new shares of the Company (the “New Shares”) at a subscription price of €0.202 per New Share (i.e., a nominal value of €0.02, plus an issue premium of €0.182), to be fully paid up upon subscription, representing gross proceeds, including the issue premium, of c. €392 million. Preferential subscription rights will be detached from the existing shares on 13 March 2026. Existing shares will therefore trade ex-right as from 13 March 2026. Each shareholder will receive one preferential subscription right per share recorded in its securities account at the end of the day falling on 16 March 2026. In order to ensure that the shares are recorded in the securities account on that date, purchases of existing shares on the market must be executed at the latest on 12 March 2026. Each existing share will entitle its holder to receive one (1) preferential subscription right. One (1) preferential subscription right will entitle holders to subscribe to six (6) New Shares on a pro rata basis, not subject to reduction (à titre irréductible), at a subscription price of €0.202 per New Share. Subscription subject to reduction (à titre réductible) will be accepted but remains subject to reduction in the event of oversubscription. Any New Shares that are not absorbed by subscriptions not subject to reduction (à titre irréductible) will be distributed and awarded to the subscribers subject to reduction (à titre réductible). Subscription orders subject to reduction (à titre réductible) will be allocated within the limit of their requests, in proportion to the number of preferential subscription rights which will have been used to subscribe not subject to reduction (à titre irréductible), without this resulting into an allotment of fractional New Shares. The subscription orders are irrevocable. Based on the closing price of Worldline shares on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (“Euronext Paris”) on 10 March 2026, i.e. €1.421: the theoretical value of the preferential subscription right is €1.045 (this value may fluctuate during the rights trading period, in particular depending on changes in Worldline’s ex-right share price); the theoretical ex-right value of the share is €0.376; and the subscription price for the New Share of €0.202 per New Share reflects a discount of 46.3% to the theoretical ex-right value of the share and of 85.8% to the closing price of 10 March 2026. These values do not provide any assurance as to the preferential subscription right value throughout the rights trading period, nor to the discounts, nor Worldline’s ex-right value of the share as they will be observed on Euronext Paris. The Rights Issue will be open to the public in France only. The New Shares will immediately entitle their holders, from the date of issuance, to receive all dividends and distribution decided by the Company from this date. Subscription undertakings After taking into account the completion of the Reserved Capital Increases, Bpifrance Participations, Crédit Agricole S.A. (via Delfinances) and BNP Paribas respectively hold 9.6%, 9.5% and 7.9% of the share capital of the Company as of today. The Strategic Investors have each committed to subscribe to the Rights Issue on a pro rata basis (à titre irréductible), by exercising their preferential subscription rights in proportion to their respective shareholding in the Company following completion of the Reserved Capital Increases, and for an additional amount of up to €29 million in aggregate (i.e., up to €11.4 million for Bpifrance Participations, €10.7 million for Crédit Agricole S.A. (via Delfinances) and €6.9 million for BNP Paribas)² which may be fulfilled, in whole or in part, to facilitate the execution of the Rights Issue. In addition, on 9 March 2026, Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (who is not a shareholder of the Company as of today) agreed to purchase from SIX Group AG all of the preferential subscription rights (the “Acquired Rights”) attached to SIX Group AG’s 29,853,529 Company’s shares (representing as of today 9.2% of the share capital of the Company). Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel has undertaken to exercise all the Acquired Rights on a not subject to reduction basis (à titre irréductible), after ownership of the Acquired Rights has been transferred to it. Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel will thus subscribe to 179,121,174 New Shares. Such subscription commitments represent in aggregate up to 43.7% of the amount of the Rights Issue (assuming the additional commitment of €29 million is fulfilled exclusively by way of subscribing to New Shares), for an aggregate amount of up to c. €171 million in total. Worldline is not aware of the subscription intentions of any other shareholder. Underwriting The Rights Issue, to the extent not covered by the subscription commitments described above, will be underwritten by a syndicate of banks. Indicative timetable of the Rights Issue 12 March 2026 Publication of the Company's press release describing the main characteristics of the Rights Issue.  Publication by Euronext Paris of the notice relating to the Rights Issue announcing the listing of the preferential subscription rights. Deadline for the purchase of existing shares on the market entitling the purchaser to the preferential subscription right that will be detached from them.  13 March 2026 Detachment of the preferential subscription rights and opening of the trading period for preferential subscription rights on Euronext Paris (ISIN code FR0014015MS9).  16 March 2026 Deadline for registration of existing shares entitling their holders to receive preferential subscription rights.  17 March 2026 Opening of the subscription period for the Rights Issue.  25 March 2026 Closing of the trading period for preferential subscription rights.  27 March 2026 Closing of the subscription period for the Rights Issue(1).  Last day for settlement and delivery of preferential subscription rights. 31 March 2026  Publication of a press release by the Company announcing the result of the subscriptions to the Rights Issue.Publication by Euronext Paris of the notice relating to the admission to trading of the New Shares indicating the definitive amount of the Rights Issue and indicating the proportionate distribution of the subscriptions subject to reduction (à titre réductible).  2 April 2026 Settlement and delivery of the New Shares. Issue and admission of the New Shares to trading on Euronext Paris. (1) The processing times required by account holders may lead them to bring forward the dates and times for receiving instructions from their clients who hold preferential subscription rights. Account holders must inform their clients through corporate action notices, and the investors concerned are invited to contact their account holder. It will not be possible to buy or sell the preferential subscription rights on the market after the close of trading on 25 March 2026. Any preferential subscription rights not exercised before the end of the subscription period, i.e. the close of trading on 27 March 2026, shall automatically become null and void. The New Shares will be, as from their issuance date, fully fungible with Worldline’s existing shares and will be traded under the same trading line and ISIN code as Worldline’s existing shares (ISIN code FR0011981968 and ticker symbol: WLN).  Note: The English-language version of this document may differ from the French-language version for regulatory reasons.

Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a European leader in payment services, extends its long-term partnership with ABN AMRO. Under the new long-term agreement, Worldline will continue as an important partner for ABN AMRO. ABN AMRO and Worldline share a distinguished partnership built over decades. In recognition of this strong foundation and proven track record, Worldline will continue to enhance ABN AMRO’s customer payment solutions. This collaboration underscores the value both parties place in their long-term commitment to innovation and operational excellence. Under the renewed contract, Worldline will continue to drive critical payment services for ABN AMRO, overseeing card issuing and personalization activities, and a comprehensive suite of payment solutions. This encompasses SEPA Credit Transfers, Instant Payments, and full-spectrum support services ensuring seamless operations across the entire payment value chain. Notably, Worldline leverages its modern and future proof technology stack that creates compelling opportunities for new digital journeys and services. This approach enables ABN AMRO to deliver modern en reliable payment services to its customers. “We are very proud that ABN AMRO has once again chosen Worldline as its key partner in payment services,” says Madalena Cascais Tomé, Chief Processing and Financial Institutions at Worldline. “Together, we are poised to shape the future of payments innovation in an evolving market while strengthening sovereignty, resilience and performance.” Erica Kostelijk, Head of Product Unit Transaction Banking at ABN AMRO, adds: “We are pleased to extend the already long-standing relationship with Worldline, as this partnership ensures our reliable, excellent and future-proof payments offering to our customers.”With the extended contract, both organizations continue their commitment to providing the Dutch market with secure, efficient and innovative payment solutions.

Nicolas Breteau, Group CEO, said: “TP ICAP delivered another year of strong revenue and profit growth. At constant currency1, our Global Broking franchise achieved record revenue growth of 10%, while total Group revenue increased by 6% to £2.4bn, and adjusted EBIT1 increased 10% to £348m. This continues the momentum we have built since 2021, with adjusted EBIT compounding at 9% annually.  “This strong performance reflects the disciplined execution of our strategy. We grew the business, maintained strict cost control and continued to drive operating leverage. This is evident in our increasingly diversified buy-side and sell-side offering, with both Global Broking and Liquidnet delivering record profitability.  “Reflecting our strong financial delivery, operational progress and continued capital discipline, I am pleased to announce the launch of an £80m share buyback. This distribution includes £50m from our legal entities rationalisation programme, delivered ahead of schedule. “We operate at the centre of the world’s most complex financial markets, which present significant long‑term opportunities. We remain confident in our outlook, supported by the strength of our diversified business and disciplined delivery of our strategy.” Click here for full details.

London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSEG) announces today that it has purchased the following number of its ordinary shares of 679/86 pence each on the London Stock Exchange from Morgan Stanley & Co. International Plc (Morgan Stanley) as part of its share buyback programme, as announced on 26 February 2026: Ordinary Shares   Date of purchase: 11 March 2026 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 165,088 Highest price paid per share: 8,610.00p Lowest price paid per share: 8,374.00p Volume weighted average price per share: 8,468.85p   LSEG intends to cancel all of the purchased shares. Following the cancellation of the repurchased shares, LSEG has 502,452,091 ordinary shares of 679/86 pence each in issue (excluding treasury shares) and holds 21,451,599 of its ordinary shares of 679/86 pence each in treasury. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company will be 502,452,091. This figure for the total number of voting rights may be used by shareholders (and others with notification obligations) as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (as it forms part of the law of the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as implemented, retained, amended, extended, re-enacted or otherwise given effect in the United Kingdom from 1 January 2021 and as amended or supplemented in the United Kingdom thereafter) a full breakdown of the individual trades made by the Morgan Stanley on behalf of the Company as part of the buyback programme can be found at: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3013W_1-2026-3-11.pdf This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, an offer or any solicitation of an offer for securities in any jurisdiction. Schedule of Purchases Shares purchased: 165,088 Date of purchases: 11 March 2026 Investment firm: Morgan Stanley & Co. International Plc   Aggregate Information: Venue Volume weighted average price Aggregated Volume Lowest price per share Highest price per share XLON 8,466.25p 138,733 8,374.00p 8,610.00p TRQX 8,482.57p 26,355 8,388.00p 8,610.00p

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today charged former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Consolidated Industries Berhad (SCIB) Rosland bin Othman (Rosland) at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for an offence of causing the furnishing of a false statement by SCIB to Bursa Malaysia. Rosland was charged with one charge under section 369(b)(B) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) for causing the furnishing of SCIB’s Interim Financial Report on Consolidated Results for the Quarter Ended 30 June 2021 which contained a revenue figure of RM852.8 million to Bursa Malaysia on 30 September 2021.                              According to the charge, Rosland is deemed to have committed the offence under section 367(1) of the CMSA in his capacity as director of SCIB at the material time. Rosland claimed trial to the charge against him. Sessions Court judge Tuan Azrul bin Darus granted Rosland bail of RM500,000 with one local surety. He was also ordered by the court to surrender his passport and to report to the SC’s Investigating Officer on a monthly basis until the completion of the trial as additional bail conditions.    If convicted, Rosland could face imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding RM3 million. The SC was represented by SC Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Hafiz Mohd Yusoff and Hashley Tajudin, and prosecuting officers Quek Yiing Huey and Siti Sarah Kamaruzaman. Separately, the SC also secured a warrant of arrest earlier today against former SCIB Chairman and non-executive and non-independent director Dato’ Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah (Karim).   Karim was previously charged for a similar offence by the SC in 2021 in relation to false information in the financial statements of Serba Dinamik Holdings Berhad. The matter was however resolved via compound following the decision of the Public Prosecutor in accepting Karim’s representation, where he was imposed with a compound of RM3 million. Karim, who is currently at large, is wanted for the same offence under section 369(b)(B) of the CMSA. The Public Prosecutor has granted consent for criminal prosecution against Karim for his involvement in causing the furnishing of the false statement by SCIB to Bursa Malaysia.   Karim’s details and last known addresses are as follows: Name : Mohd Abdul Karim bin Abdullah IC No. : 650523-13-5719 Last known place of residence:   No. 35, Jalan Hijau Pelangi U9/51, The Lake Garden Villas Cahaya SPK,Seksyen U9, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor   Flat -3401. , 345-Burj Khalifa, Premise Number: 345265912, PO Box 5130, Dubai, UAE  Members of the public who have any information on Karim’s whereabouts are urged to notify the SC at 012-6112496 or email the SC at aduan@seccom.com.my. Accurate disclosures relating to the financial affairs of public listed companies is crucial to ensuring trust and confidence in the capital market. The SC will continue to vigorously enforce offences of this nature.

The total value of transactions during the month in re view reached €14,67 million, with an average of €0,77 million per trading session. The Financials sector contrib uted 91,20% to the total value traded which was the high est among all other sectors. Investors primarily focused their interest on the shares of “Bank of Cyprus Holdings Plc” and also on shares of “Demetra Holdings Plc” with 79,71% and 7,24% of the total value respectively. Click here for full details.

A third of proprietary trading firms are set to move to a more office-based working model over the next two years as half of firms that offer flexible working report that productivity has been negatively impacted, the latest Proprietary Trading Management Insight Report has found. The quarterly Proprietary Trading Management Insight Report, which was released today and is produced in partnership with Avelacom, is based on a survey of the Acuiti Proprietary Trading Expert Network, which comprises senior proprietary trading executives around the world. The report provides insights into the key trends facing the community. This quarter’s report explored attitudes and approaches to flexible working and found that 81% of proprietary trading firms had some level of flexibility in working from home for staff. However, while 53% of the firms that deployed flexible working arrangements said that it had improved retention, 47% said that productivity had worsened – and just 20% said that it had improved.  As a result, 34% of firms that offered flexible working said that they would implement a more office-based structure over the next two years. “This quarter’s Insight Report finds that proprietary trading firms, in line with other firms in the financial sector, are planning to move to more office-based working,” says Ross Lancaster, head of research at Acuiti. “This is unlikely to mean a full return to five days a week for all roles though.  The survey found that many firms offer significantly more flexibility for roles in development and software than in trading for example. However, there is clear evidence that firms are moving closer to pre-covid working arrangements.” Liquidity conditions in 2025 This quarter’s report also surveyed firms on liquidity conditions and found a positive picture for 2025. Most respondents described overall liquidity as good, with 19% of respondents saying it was very good and just 15% saying liquidity in the asset classes they trade was poor last year. Sentiment was particularly positive among US-based firms, where more than 90% of respondents said liquidity was either good or very good. Several structural factors were behind the positive liquidity profile. The most commonly cited factor was exchange policy and incentive design, including fee structures, liquidity programmes and improvements to market structure that encouraged participation and market depth. Investment in technology was also cited as a factor in improved liquidity. However, the report also identified emerging concerns in areas where liquidity has weakened. The dominant factor cited by firms that reported poorer liquidity conditions was a growth in off-book trading activity.  This trend was particularly pronounced in Europe, where a large majority of respondents reported weaker liquidity linked to the rise in off-venue trading. The report warns that if more trading shifts to bilateral or off-venue channels, displayed depth in order books will decline and price discovery may weaken. “The report highlights that improved trading technology is increasingly contributing to liquidity, based on interviews with market participants,” says Aleksey Larichev, CEO of Avelacom. “This is the same for all asset classes, regardless of the geography.” Other key findings in this quarters’ report include: Costs continue to rise for proprietary trading firms: 85% of firms reported an increase in overall costs during 2025, with exchange fees, technology and staffing cited as the main drivers. Digital assets continuing to gain traction: Around half of proprietary trading firms that do not currently trade digital assets are considering doing so in 2026, but fewer than one in 10 are definitely committed to entering the market. Financial performance across the proprietary trading market was strong in 2025, with more than two-thirds of firms reporting improved profitability compared with 2024. Engagement with onshore Chinese derivatives markets remains limited by proprietary trading firms with 18% of firms currently trading the market. However, over a third of firms in the network are considering trading onshore China.Download full report here: https://www.acuiti.io/proprietary-trading-management-insight-report-q1-2026/.    

The Financial Markets Authority – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko (FMA) will use this week’s FinTech Hui in Wellington to engage on the next steps for its FinTech sandbox pilot. The FMA is aiming to expand the sandbox pilot to introduce an on-ramp or restricted licence for innovative firms.  “Our financial system is changing faster than ever before. This new type of licence will support firms to get access to the market with some restrictions in place that can be removed as the firm grows,” Chief Executive Samantha Barrass says.  “This approach means the FMA can help innovation and grow competition while balancing potential risks to consumers.” Six firms entered the current FMA sandbox pilot which aimed to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers and encourage innovation.   Four firms have identified a pathway to market for their innovative products or services, where regulatory uncertainty and other barriers to entry may otherwise have prevented launch.  As part of the sandbox pilot, the FMA has declared Easy Crypto’s non-yielding stablecoin is not a financial product under the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMC Act).  The pilot has given both FMA and participants greater insights into the benefits and risks of financial innovation and new technologies, to identify gaps in our existing regulation, and provide real-world insights to policymakers.      “FMA staff worked closely with the six firms in the well-received pilot to enable a pathway to market. Expanding the sandbox to focus on on-ramp licensing means we can broaden the support we offer to a wider number of firms.” Ms Barrass said.  Tokenisation The FMA is also publishing the responses to its September 2025 Tokenisation discussion paper.  Submitters outlined benefits that included broadening capital raising opportunities, greater access to New Zealand financial markets and increasing liquidity and market resilience. Risks identified included custody risks around control of virtual assets, cyber security and increased risk of fraud and scams involving fake tokenised assets. Submitters also raised concerns around legal and regulatory uncertainty, including that overseas jurisdictions are moving to licensing regimes for crypto service providers. “The FMA will continue to engage with policymakers on potential changes to legal and regulatory frameworks to reflect the significant changes in markets over the past decade.” says Ms Barrass. Related Financial Markets Conduct (ECDD Holdings Limited Stablecoin) Designation Notice 2026 Discussion paper: Tokenisation in financial markets 

sFOX, the leading crypto and stablecoin infrastructure company for businesses, today announced a strategic partnership with EDX Markets, a leading digital asset technology firm that combines an institutional-only trading venue with a central clearinghouse. Through the collaboration, sFOX will source liquidity from EDX Markets and leverage its venue to further enhance execution quality for its clients. The integration brings together sFOX’s advanced trading, liquidity aggregation, and execution capabilities with EDX Markets’ institutional-grade venue, which is purpose-built for secure market infrastructure and capital-efficient trading. By incorporating EDX’s liquidity into sFOX, clients will benefit from improved price discovery, deeper liquidity, and stronger execution performance. “Partnering with EDX Markets enables us to further elevate our clients’ experience trading digital assets,” said Javier Martinez, CEO of sFOX. “This integration strengthens our ability to meet the evolving needs of institutional traders by delivering EDX’s high-quality liquidity and reliable execution.” The partnership reflects a shared commitment by sFOX and EDX Markets to deliver the performance, reliability, and transparency standards that institutional participants expect from traditional financial markets. Tony Acuña-Rohter, CEO of EDX Markets, added, “sFOX brings deep expertise in institutional crypto execution and liquidity aggregation. Through this collaboration, we are enabling high-quality execution and capital-efficient trading for sFOX’s clients, strengthening institutional engagement with digital assets.”

A summary of Deutsche Börse Group's business indicators for February 2026 is now available on the Deutsche Börse website: Trading Statistics There you can also find the Excel file 'Major business figures' containing historic business indicators for the respective reporting segments.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to guide coordination and collaboration between the two agencies to support lawful innovation, uphold market integrity, and ensure investor and customer protection. The MOU reflects both agencies’ commitment to provide fair notice to market participants, respect individual liberty, and foster lawful innovation with the minimum effective dose of regulation to enhance U.S. competitiveness in finance. “America’s financial markets are the envy of the world because they scale and adapt to meet investor demands. Like our markets, the CFTC’s and SEC’s regulatory frameworks must also evolve and modernize to accommodate the needs of our market participants,” said CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. “This Memorandum of Understanding solidifies the agencies’ commitment to harmonize regulatory frameworks to provide comprehensive and seamless financial market oversight. By working together, we’ll eliminate duplicative, burdensome rules and close gaps in regulation for the benefit of all Americans and usher in a Golden Age of American finance.”  “For decades, regulatory turf wars, duplicative agency registrations, and different sets of regulations between the SEC and CFTC have stifled innovation and pushed market participants to other jurisdictions,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “This updated Memorandum of Understanding will serve as a roadmap for a new era of harmonization between the agencies – one that is critical to support U.S. leadership in this next chapter of financial innovation. By aligning regulatory definitions, coordinating oversight, and facilitating seamless, secure data sharing between agencies, we will ensure our rules and regulations deliver the clarity market participants deserve.”  In conjunction with the MOU, the agencies created a Joint Harmonization Initiative to advance coordinated oversight and promote regulatory clarity in areas of common regulatory interest. The Initiative will support coordination across the policymaking, examination and enforcement functions of each agency, particularly for joint applications and shared policy efforts, including:  Clarifying product definitions through joint interpretations and rulemakings. Modernizing clearing, margin, and collateral frameworks. Reducing frictions for dually registered exchanges, trading venues, and intermediaries. Providing a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies. Streamlining regulatory reporting for trade data, funds, and intermediaries. Coordinating cross-market examinations, economic analyses, risk monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement. The Joint Harmonization Initiative will be co-led by Meghan Tente (CFTC) and Robert Teply (SEC).  This announcement follows previously announced efforts to harmonize the agencies’ regulatory frameworks, which is further described on the CFTC website and SEC website. Public input is encouraged and may be submitted through the written input form or a meeting request. RELATED LINKS SEC & CFTC MOU Regarding Harmonization in Areas of Common Regulatory Interest