Compliance & Ethics

APRA and ASIC have jointly launched a consultation on proposed changes to simplify administration under the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR), releasing draft revised Regulator Rules and an updated FAR information paper. Compliance teams at all FAR-covered entities should review the proposals and consider submitting feedback before the October 2, 2026 deadline, as final changes are expected to take effect from early 2027.

The Norway Financial Supervisory Authority has issued a warning regarding "housetrading-financial," a clone firm fraudulently impersonating a legitimate FCA-registered entity in the United Kingdom. Compliance teams should note this as part of an ongoing pattern of clone firm scams targeting investors across jurisdictions, requiring enhanced due diligence and customer protection measures.

The Norway Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) has issued a warning concerning Elevate North Advisors (elevatenorthadvisors.com), an entity also referenced in a related warning published by Switzerland's FINMA. The notice indicates the entity is not authorized to provide financial services in the relevant jurisdictions, posing a direct risk to consumers and counterparties who may engage with it believing it to be a regulated provider.

DNB and the AFM have published their monthly sanctions alert, detailing regulatory amendments and rectifications affecting sanctions regimes related to ISIS/Al Qaeda, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Libya during August 2026. Dutch financial institutions must assess whether these changes impact their customer base, transactions, or investments and take immediate action if a sanctions hit is identified.

The Norway Financial Supervisory Authority has issued a warning regarding sygnumglobal.co, an entity referencing a Swiss issuer that appears to be operating without proper authorization. The warning cross-references a FINMA (Switzerland) warning list entry, suggesting this is a case of potential brand impersonation or unlicensed cross-border financial activity targeting consumers.

The AFM announced that outgoing director Jos Heuvelman has been named an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of his decades-long contribution to Dutch and European financial regulation. This is a personnel and ceremonial announcement with no direct regulatory, supervisory, or compliance obligations attached.

The CFTC's Division of Market Oversight has issued a no-action letter allowing Electron Exchange DCM LLC to submit large trader reports on behalf of direct participants as if its contracts were exclusively self-cleared. This relief streamlines reporting obligations for the exchange and its participants, though compliance teams should confirm their reporting arrangements remain consistent with the no-action conditions.