Daily · OFAC Sanctions and Market Fee Updates · October 26, 2026

Key points

New OFAC Designations and Blocking

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published the names of persons and vessels placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). The designations were made based on determinations that applicable legal criteria were satisfied.

All property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction belonging to these persons are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. The vessels identified on the list have been designated as property in which a blocked person has an interest. These actions require immediate compliance screening updates for any entity with a U.S. nexus, particularly those managing vessel-related assets or interests.

ECB Reports Tightening Lending Conditions

The European Central Bank (ECB) published its Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE), reporting that lending conditions in the euro area have tightened. This development signals increased financing costs for enterprises, which is relevant for corporate treasury and risk planning.

In a related publication on the same day, ECB Executive Board member Frank Elderson delivered a speech titled “Taking action for nature – investing in economic resilience and prosperity.” The speech highlights policy attention to environmental risks within macroeconomic and financial stability discussions.

FCA Finds Friction Rather Than Exclusion

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published findings regarding banking access for defence small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). After engaging with firms to assess efficiency and consistency in service provision, the FCA determined that banks can and do serve defence SMEs, with many investing in specialist expertise and dedicated governance processes. The authority characterised the main issues as long onboarding processes, repeated requests for information, and delays in decision-making, reframing the challenge as friction and delay rather than widespread exclusion.

Chandler King Enters Liquidation

Chandler King (City) Limited, an FCA-authorised independent financial adviser specialising in investments and pensions, entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 17 September 2026. Grace Jones and Karyn Jones of Parker Andrews were appointed as joint liquidators. Prior to liquidation, the firm had agreed to a voluntary requirement with the FCA on 28 April 2026 that restricted its activities and applied to cancel its FCA permissions, a process currently subject to review by the regulator.

U.S. Exchange Fee and Rule Filings

Several U.S. exchanges filed proposed rule changes with the SEC, all granted immediate effectiveness. Cboe EDGX, Cboe BZX, Cboe BYX, and Cboe EDGA filed amendments to their fee schedules to update the definition of Trading Platform. Cboe BZX also filed to eliminate the annual listing fee applicable to legacy listings of exchange-traded products under Rule 14.13(b)(2)(E). Cboe EDGX and Cboe EDGA filed separate amendments to Rule 14.1 regarding information circular requirements.

NYSE Arca and NYSE American filed modifications to their options fee schedules concerning fees and rebates for manual transactions. NYSE Arca also filed amendments to Rules 7.18-E, 7.35-E(a)(8)(A), and 7.35-E(f) regarding trading halts, while NYSE Texas filed similar amendments to Rules 7.18, 7.35(a)(8)(A), and 7.35(f). MIAX PEARL filed an amendment to its equities fee schedule, and the SEC approved a proposed rule change by The Options Clearing Corporation concerning amendments to clearing member standards.

Our read

The day's most critical operational item is the OFAC designation of vessels as property interests of blocked persons, which extends compliance obligations beyond standard entity screening to asset-level tracking for firms with U.S. exposure. For European and Gulf-based financial institutions, the ECB's confirmation of tightening lending conditions reinforces the need for conservative liquidity buffers, while the FCA's reframing of defence-sector banking issues from exclusion to friction suggests that regulatory pressure will focus on process efficiency rather than outright prohibition. The wave of immediate-effectiveness fee schedule updates across U.S. exchanges indicates a coordinated effort to refine market microstructure costs, particularly regarding manual transactions and legacy listings, which may impact execution cost strategies for institutional traders.

This digest was produced automatically by a large-language-model system from the regulator publications and official sources listed below; it is AI-generated content and may contain inaccuracies. It is not legal advice — verify wording and deadlines against the original documents.

Sources