United States: Financial Services

Today, scrutiny is no longer confined to public equities markets. In a pair of recent prosecutions, including last week’s indictment of a Google employee, the Department of Justice has made clear that it will pursue insider trading type cases wherever (i) confidential data moves prices, and (ii) a duty-bound actor exploits that data for trading advantage, even outside the securities laws. Prediction markets and crypto platforms appear to be the primary testing ground for this expanded enforcement theory

Federal banking agencies have issued revised model risk management guidance in SR 26-2, introducing a more explicitly risk-based approach to model governance, validation, and monitoring. While primarily targeting organizations with over $30 billion in assets, the principles-based framework has broader implications for regional and community banks navigating evolving regulatory expectations.

On May 27, 2026, the CFTC filed a civil enforcement action in the Southern District of New York against Michele Spagnuolo, a Google software engineer accused of misappropriating confidential information concerning Google’s 2025 “Year in Search” rankings and using that information to trade related event contracts on Polymarket.

On May 27, 2026, the SDNY and CFTC filed parallel actions against Michele Spagnuolo, a software engineer employed by Google, alleging that he misappropriated confidential corporate information and used it to trade on a decentralized prediction market platform.

The Coalition for Modern Retirement Solutions submitted a comprehensive comment letter to the Department of Labor regarding proposed fiduciary duties in selecting retirement plan investments. The letter advocates for an asset-neutral, process-based approach while providing detailed recommendations to protect plan fiduciaries from hindsight-driven litigation and enable broader investment options for participants.

Illinois launches a modernized online complaint portal for consumer financial issues as federal consumer protection efforts decline and complaints surge nationwide.

June 4 – Read the newsletter below for the latest Mortgage Banking and Consumer Finance industry news, written by Ballard Spahr attorneys.

Private credit markets in the United States have ballooned to nearly $2 trillion, but mounting redemption pressures and portfolio stress are triggering a wave of litigation against business development companies, fund managers, and service providers. As publicly traded BDCs trade at steep discounts and redemption caps tighten, stakeholders face exposure across securities fraud, fiduciary duty breaches, valuation disputes, and bankruptcy-related claims that will reshape the legal landscape of this rapidly ev

Adam Maarec and fintech thought leader Simon Taylor explore the rapidly evolving intersection of AI, payments, and banking innovation.