Inside Authority

On August 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a final rule that became effective on August 14, 2026. 

Amidst growing federal and state scrutiny of proxy advisory firms, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (the “Division”) recently entered the fray. On August 5, 2026, the Division withdrew its 1987 business review letter (the “Letter”) to proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), stating that the Letter no longer reflects ISS’s current business practices and citing concerns about concentration among proxy advisors.

On August 18, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the “Commission”) proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a new framework that would establish a “fit-for-purpose” regime for offering certain investment contracts involving crypto assets without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

On August 10, 2026, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a new process to review applications by prospective new banks for deposit insurance for all applications received after August 15, 2026. According to the FDIC, the two-phase process is intended to encourage new bank formation, accelerate the speed of the review process, and improve the efficiency of the application process.

In our latest edition of MoFo's Quarterly Federal Securities and Corporate Litigation Newsletter, we provide a rundown of select developments from the second quarter of 2026.

In an increasingly uncertain antitrust enforcement landscape, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (the “Division”) has resurrected its practice of opining on potentially thorny competition questions submitted by companies.