Daily · Global Sanctions Shifts & Market Proposals · August 31, 2026

Sanctions updates across US and Switzerland

Regulatory authorities in Switzerland and the United States have synchronized the updating of their restricted party lists. FINMA has updated the list of sanctioned natural persons, companies, and organizations associated with the Taliban, as governed by the Ordinance of 21 March 2025. Simultaneously, the US Treasury’s OFAC expanded its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), including both the addition of new persons and the unblocking and removal of others under Executive Order 13224 and Executive Order 13886.

For businesses, these updates necessitate an immediate refresh of internal compliance screening tools. Because SDN and FINMA sanctions carry heavy penalties and can trigger a total loss of market access, operations teams must ensure that no transactions are pending with the newly listed entities. Our read: The coordinated updates across these jurisdictions suggest a tightening of the perimeter around specific geopolitical actors.

Proposed shifts in US trading standards

The SEC has issued two proposals that could alter capital efficiency and product availability on US exchanges. First, a proposal has been introduced to establish standards for cross-margin arrangements with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME). Cross-margining allows firms to use a single pool of collateral to cover requirements across different exchanges, which can significantly reduce the amount of liquid capital a firm must tie up.

Additionally, the SEC has designated a longer review period for a proposal by Cboe Exchange, Inc. to allow the listing of binary options that track key performance indicators (KPIs) reported by certain stock issuers. This represents a potential shift toward more specialized derivatives based on operational metrics rather than just share price. While these are currently only proposals and not yet rules, firms utilizing these exchanges should assess how cross-margin standards might optimize their balance sheets and monitor the Cboe decision for new hedging opportunities. Our read: The SEC is cautiously weighing the benefits of increased capital efficiency against the risks of more complex, KPI-linked derivatives.

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:

CH (5)

GLOBAL (2)

SG (1)

US (16)