Daily · US Sanctions & UK Payment Overhaul · July 2, 2026
Sanctions and Blocked Entities
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has updated its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, adding new individuals and vessels. This action blocks all property within U.S. jurisdiction belonging to these entities and generally prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them. For business leaders, this necessitates an immediate update of KYC (Know Your Customer) screening lists to prevent accidental dealings with blocked parties, which could lead to severe regulatory penalties.
Consumer Protection and Market Conduct
Regulators in Europe and the UK are intensifying their focus on transparency and fair value. In the EU, ESMA fined Moody's Germany over €2.1 million for failing to provide accurate and complete data. This serves as a warning that regulators are aggressively penalizing reporting failures, making robust internal data controls a business priority rather than a technicality.
In the UK, the FCA is challenging pension providers to ensure that customers in older, "legacy" products are not receiving poorer value than those in newer schemes. Simultaneously, the FCA is proposing to simplify how investment costs are disclosed, pushing for "plain English" over jargon. For wealth managers and platforms, this means a likely overhaul of fee structures and client communications to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Meanwhile, the FCA’s motor finance compensation scheme has been partially suspended following legal challenges from several commercial parties; this provides a temporary operational pause for lenders, allowing them to progress complaints without committing to work that may be overturned by the tribunal. In the US, the SEC is seeking public comment on "Novel ETFs," offering asset managers a window to influence the rules governing innovative investment strategies.
Banking and Financial Supervision
The UK is advancing its "National Payments Vision," with the Payments Vision Delivery Committee providing new context on the future of retail payments infrastructure. This includes a rethink of commercial models and the integration of better anti-financial crime tools. Businesses in the fintech and banking sectors should prepare for a shift in the underlying technology and standards of how money moves in the UK. In Switzerland, the Swiss National Bank has released its 2026 Financial Stability Report, providing a critical macro-risk roadmap for firms operating within the Swiss financial ecosystem.
This overview is informational, not legal or compliance advice. Consult your lawyer or compliance specialist on specific decisions.
Sources
This overview is based on official regulator publications for the period: