May 10, 2026 to May 16, 2026

This is Queen Street Analytics' weekly digest of regulatory developments, legislative discussions and other government-related news for professionals in the financial industry, banking, credit unions, insurance, payment processing, fintech, credit card issuing, asset management, venture capital, private equity, and crypto-currencies. Once a week, we break down the most important updates in this space in under five minutes.

Want to track other GR news in adjacent industries? Don’t miss this week’s updates in ICT & Cybersecurity. Also consider subscribing to our Finance - Ottawa edition covering critical GR news north of the border.

📋 In This Week's Newsletter

• 🏛️ This Week's Congressional Calendar
• 🇺🇸 Federal Government News
• 📜 Legislative Updates
• 📚 What We're Reading This Week

This Week's Congressional Calendar

• Partnering for Innovation: How Bank-Fintech Collaborations Enhance Financial Infrastructure: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence holds a hearing May 20, 2026, examining bank-fintech partnerships for infrastructure, featuring testimony from Morrison Foerster, Xero, Treasury Prime, Lead Bank, and the Center for Responsible Lending.
• From Order to Execution: Ensuring Efficient and Transparent Equity Markets: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets convenes May 20, 2026, for a hearing on transaction efficiency and market transparency, with witnesses from academia, Robinhood, Nasdaq, Optiver, and Themis Trading.
• Modernizing the BSA for Financial Crime in the 21st Century: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions meets May 21, 2026, to evaluate statutory and operational changes to the Bank Secrecy Act in combating contemporary financial crime.

Federal Government News

SEC Approves New Funding Fees for Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Operations

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a series of rule changes from multiple SROs, including FINRA, Nasdaq ISE, Miami International Securities Exchange, Cboe EDGX, Investors Exchange, MEMX, and BOX Exchange to implement new fee schedules for Industry Members to support operations of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) from May 1 through December 31, 2026. The fee rate is set at $0.000001 per executed equivalent share for ongoing CAT costs and $0.000002 per executed equivalent share for recovering $38.9 million in pre-2022 historical CAT expenses. Billing will begin in June 2026, covering May transactions, with further invoices continuing monthly. The new fees cover a wide range of CAT functions, including technology, cloud services, legal, compliance, and operational infrastructure. The approved model maintains the division of funding between SRO Participants and Industry Members, in accordance with the CAT NMS Plan and recent Commission guidance.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov, www.federalregister.gov, www.federalregister.gov, www.federalregister.gov

OCC Seeks Comment on Renewal of Securities Offering Disclosure Rules Information Collection

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a notice requesting public comment regarding renewal of the information collection for Securities Offering Disclosure Rules. These rules require national banks and federal savings associations to file prospectus and registration statements, maintain disclosure parity with SEC requirements, and observe certain conditions for offering debt to accredited investors. The agency estimates the burden at 900 hours annually across 16 respondents. Comments are accepted through July 13, 2026.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

White House Nominates John Crews for National Credit Union Administration Board

On May 11, the White House submitted several nominations to the Senate, including John Crews for a term expiring August 2, 2031, on the National Credit Union Administration Board. Other finance-relevant nominations include Francis Brooke for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and Brett Matsumoto for Commissioner of Labor Statistics.

Sources: www.whitehouse.gov

SEC Grants Order for New Customer Net Margin Account Option in Securities Financing Transaction Clearing

The SEC approved a rule change by the National Securities Clearing Corporation creating a new Customer Net Margin Account for Agent Clearing Members in its SFT Clearing Service. This account structure allows netting of positions for margin and Clearing Fund requirements, reducing margin demands and improving capital efficiency, while supplementing the existing gross margin account system. The approval aligns NSCC policies with peer central clearinghouses and updates its management processes for defaults and exits.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

SEC Processing Information Collection Extension for Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI)

The SEC is seeking OMB approval to extend the information collection for Regulation Best Interest (Rule 151-1), which sets forth disclosure and best-interest standards for broker-dealers making recommendations to retail customers. An estimated 2,183 broker-dealers will spend a total of 4,939,905 hours and about $2 million annually to comply. Public comments are due by June 11, 2026.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

Legislative Updates

Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633)

This House bill, focused on regulatory clarity for digital assets, was ordered reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Sources: www.congress.gov

Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act (H.R. 4801)

The House advanced this bill to promote artificial intelligence innovation in financial services, passing the committee with a 33 - 19 vote after amendment.

Sources: www.congress.gov

SMART Act of 2025 (H.R. 4437)

Having passed the House, the Supporting Market Analysis and Reporting Technology Act was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Sources: www.congress.gov

TRUST Act of 2025 (H.R. 4478)

The TRUST Act, dealing with fiscal management and the trust system, was received from the House and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Sources: www.congress.gov

Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in Supervision Act (H.R. 8278)

This bill was ordered to be reported (Amended) by the House Financial Services Committee, 52-0, supporting expanded use of technology in financial supervision.

Sources: www.congress.gov

What We're Reading This Week

• Crypto Industry Notches Win in Washington After Brawl With Banks: Lawmakers delivered regulatory advances for digital assets against industry pushback from traditional bank lobbies.
• As Powell term ends, his legacy may be as much about courting Congress as monetary policy: Jerome Powell's leadership as Fed Chair reflected a focus on legislative engagement as well as macroeconomic policy.
• Asia Pacific banks face growing credit risks, raise provisions as Iran war drags on: Regional banks are boosting loss provisions amid geopolitical uncertainties affecting credit portfolios.
• Australia's CBA shares slump on tax changes, provisions; lenders fall: Commonwealth Bank of Australia stock declined on new tax measures and reserve increases, affecting broader sector valuations.
• BOJ warns of financial system risks from investment fund activity: The Bank of Japan cited new pressures from investment funds as a growing source of systemic risk.
• Private credit funds mark investment values lower, filings show: Recent regulatory filings reflect reduced valuations by several major private credit funds.
• Trump administration sides with banks in Illinois swipe fee case: The administration filed in federal court opposing a state swipe fee law as litigation over payment regulation intensifies.
• Warsh's red lines worry world finance: Concerns persist among global financial leaders over Ken Warsh's policy pronouncements and their market impact.
• UK to set out looser bank ring-fencing rules next week, Sky News says: Upcoming changes are expected for UK bank structural rules according to Sky News reporting.
• Nigeria gives pension funds waiver to invest in proposed Dangote refinery IPO: Nigerian regulators approved a waiver permitting pension funds to participate in a major refinery IPO.

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