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.

Dates: 2026-01-17 to 2026-01-23

📋 In This Week's Newsletter

• 🇺🇸 Federal Government News
• 📚 What We're Reading This Week

Federal Government News

Executive Order Limits Institutional Investors in Single-Family Home Purchases

President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order on January 20, 2026, tasking the Treasury Secretary to define "large institutional investor" and instructing federal agencies to prevent sales of single-family homes to such investors. The order includes first-look policies for individual owner-occupants, anti-circumvention provisions, and mandates ownership disclosure for rental properties in federal housing programs. Exceptions apply for build-to-rent properties. It directs the Attorney General, Treasury, and Federal Trade Commission to review and enforce relevant rules, antitrust provisions, and market practices, along with legislative recommendations to codify these policies.

Sources: www.whitehouse.gov

SEC Grants Temporary Relief from Odd-Lot Information Rule under Regulation NMS

The Securities and Exchange Commission granted temporary exemptive relief to national market system plan participants, allowing a deferral of compliance with Rule 600(b)(69)(ii) of Regulation NMS until May 2028. The affected rule would have required dissemination of depth-of-book odd-lot quotations. SIPs will begin disseminating BOLO data in May 2026 while operational changes for full compliance are underway. The Commission cites significant concurrent industry upgrades and operational challenges in its order.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

Federal Reserve Reviews Application for Bank Holding Company Merger

Home BancShares, Inc. of Conway, Arkansas has filed an application with the Federal Reserve to merge with Mountain Commerce Bancorp, Inc. and acquire Mountain Commerce Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee, under the Bank Holding Company Act. The public portions of the application are open for inspection and comment through February 20, 2026. Interested parties can submit comments to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis or the Board of Governors.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

CFPB Seeks Comment on Mortgage Disclosure Testing

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a request for public input regarding ICBA disclosure testing focused on modified mortgage disclosure forms for community bank customers. The testing will evaluate the effectiveness of revised disclosures for various construction-related loans in terms of consumer comprehension. Public comments are invited through February 20, 2026; methods and burden estimates are under review by OMB.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

NCUA Board Meeting: Regulatory Updates and Liquidity Facility Budget

The National Credit Union Administration will hold an open board meeting on January 22, 2026. Agenda topics include a briefing on NCUA Rules and Regulations, specifically Part 701 addressing dependent care and board member expense reimbursement, alongside the Central Liquidity Facility's 2026–2027 budget review.

Sources: www.federalregister.gov

What We're Reading This Week

• Monopoly Round-Up: The Slow Death of Banking in America: Coverage on closures and consolidation trends among regional and community banks in the U.S.
• Payments industry copes with AI fraud: The financial sector sees a surge in fraud attempts linked to artificial intelligence and evolving digital payment risks.
• Lawyers tout card fee pact: Lawyer groups offer responses to recent Visa and Mastercard fee adjustment settlements for merchants.

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