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LexRegPulse
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Saturday, November 7 · Lead Treasury Cuts Crypto Exchange MEXC Global From US Financial System Treasury moved on Friday to cut a crypto exchange off from the US financial system. Under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order against MEXC Global, a convertible virtual currency exchanger it says facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions between May 2021 and May 2026. Treasury tied the flows to Iranian, North Korean and Russian sanctions evasion and to cybercrime. The order bars US financial institutions from any transmittal of funds to or from MEXC; violations may bring civil or criminal penalties. It is the newest step in Operation Economic Outcast. | ▸ | What changes for banks: The notice says the order prevents US financial institutions from processing funds transfers involving MEXC, which it says transacted directly with sanctioned actors. ABA Banking Journal said FinCEN labeled the exchange a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. Treasury said the order leaves existing Bank Secrecy Act obligations unchanged, including suspicious activity report filing, along with Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions duties. "Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system," the release said. The order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. |
| ▸ | FATF on Iran and digital assets: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in Paris adopted the US mutual evaluation report, Treasury said on November 6. It also repeated its call for countermeasures on Iran that restrict correspondent banking, digital asset transactions and business relationships. The plenary also agreed to speed global implementation of digital asset standards and to publish a report on scam centers. A targeted review of jurisdictions with virtual asset deficiencies reaches decision points at the next plenary. |
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Nov 7, 6:00 AM ET
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REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS FinCEN and the Federal Reserve dropped a 2020 plan to lower the Travel Rule threshold for cross-border transfers. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) replaced its 2011 exam procedures for homeownership counseling, and OFAC designated eight Canadian exchangers it tied to Iran. | ▸ | Travel Rule threshold stays at $3,000: FinCEN and the Fed withdrew their 2020 proposal to cut the threshold for collecting, keeping and transmitting information on funds transfers that begin or end outside the United States from $3,000 to $250. The proposal would also have clarified that "money" includes convertible virtual currencies. According to ABA Banking Journal, the agencies cited comments that the lower threshold would burden institutions, smaller ones in particular. They also said the withdrawal assures the public that no final rule will issue without another round of comment. |
| ▸ | Homeownership counseling exams: The OCC issued version 1.0 of the "Homeownership Counseling" booklet of the Comptroller's Handbook on November 6 (Bulletin 2026-55), replacing the June 2011 exam procedures. It addresses counseling requirements for delinquent borrowers under section 106(c)(5) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. The booklet does not apply to banks that neither hold nor service home loans, and examiners pick procedures based on risk. The bulletin sets no compliance date. |
| ▸ | Canadian exchangers designated: On November 6, OFAC designated eight Canada-based money services businesses under Executive Order 13902. They are Million Exchange, 1380079 BC Limited, Top PC Technician Inc, NIA Nations Currency Ltd, 2397639 Ontario Ltd (Farah Exchange), CCC Inc, B Galaxy Inc and Darvish Exchange. Treasury said the firms exchange Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets. It said they also transact with sanctioned Iranian exchanges and addresses tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In several cases, it said, they launder drug proceeds linked to Ryan Wedding. The action follows designations on June 2 and August 7. |
| WEEKLY FINTECH POLICY BRIEF |
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Tuesday's Blue Wave reshaped the landscape for financial services policy at every level of government. Here's what fintech should watch as Washington and statehouses prepare for a new balance of power.
| ▸ | Democrats Take Congress and Gain Ground in the States Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate, bringing divided government back to Washington. Expect the congressional agenda to tilt toward affordability and oversight of the Trump Administration. The two committees that matter most for fintech will look very different next year. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) is losing at least 14 members to retirement or defeat, including Reps. Barr, Loudermilk, Huizenga, Wagner, and Steil. On the Senate Banking Committee, the departures of Sens. Tillis, Lummis, and Smith leave subcommittee leadership posts to fill. Sen. Warren (D-MA) is expected to take the Banking gavel, though former Sen. Brown's (D-OH) return may affect how the committee is organized. The shift was just as big in the states. Democrats picked up governorships in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas, giving the party a majority of governor's offices for the first time since 2010. They also won control of 12 legislative chambers and now hold 21 trifectas. For fintech companies, that points to more state-level action on consumer protection, licensing, and payments in 2027. | | ▸ | OCC Releases Its First AI Supervisory Framework The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued its first framework for how examiners should review banks' use of artificial intelligence. Rather than create a separate category of AI risk, the OCC tells examiners to assess AI within the risk areas they already supervise. Banks will be expected to document approved uses, rank use cases by risk, keep humans accountable, oversee third-party vendors, and maintain strong testing, monitoring, and security controls. For fintechs that partner with banks or build agentic payment tools, this framework is an early signal of what bank partners will ask of them. | | ▸ | Waters and Casten Compete to Lead HFSC Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Sean Casten (D-IL) are both running to chair HFSC in the 120th Congress. Waters' pitch to colleagues centers on affordability, consumer protection, and modernization: ending junk fees, restoring the CFPB, faster payments, wider access to Federal Reserve master accounts, open banking reforms, stronger anti-fraud and scam protections, and guardrails for crypto and AI in financial services. Casten's bid emphasizes protections against risks from crypto and prediction markets, along with fraud prevention and Administration oversight. Whoever wins, fraud prevention and consumer protection will be top priorities. |
Weekly Fintech Policy Brief is written by the Financial Technology Association and appears every Saturday. The views are FTA’s. Lex’s analysis elsewhere in this brief is independent. |
INDUSTRY AND AI SIGNALS | ▸ | Payrolls and the rate path: The economy added 165,000 jobs in October against expectations of 65,000, according to Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics release. Unemployment fell to 4.1 percent. The Financial Times said the hiring rebound reinforces expectations that the Fed will raise rates. San Francisco Fed President Daly said a hike is likely despite the tech-stock decline, and New York Fed President Williams called inflation too high. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told CNBC she does not expect the correction to run deeper or longer. August and September were revised up 84,000. |
| ▸ | Consumer credit in September: Fed data released Friday showed consumer credit grew at a 4.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter and 6.4 percent in September. PYMNTS said revolving credit, which includes credit cards, made up more than half of September's $28 billion increase. Preliminary University of Michigan sentiment rose to 51. |
| ▸ | Frontier labs reprice: OpenAI completed an $11 billion portion of its funding round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, Bloomberg reported. It had hoped to raise as much as $30 billion at $1.4 trillion and is still seeking enough to reach $20 billion. CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC on Friday that the midterm results did not dramatically change plans for a listing targeted for next year. CNBC reported that borrowing costs for the build-out had risen, with one CoreWeave bond priced to return more than 16 percent. |
| ▸ | Stablecoin reserves under GENIUS: On November 6, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) published a study of reserve holdings at the 10 largest dollar stablecoins, which made up 97 percent of supply in June. It found that most will not follow the GENIUS Act's reserve asset requirements. The Act and the OCC's final rule (91 FR 67000) take effect January 18, 2027. |
| ▸ | Affirm's bank channel: American Banker said Affirm's Edge product is moving forward. Edge lets banks and credit unions offer Affirm's buy now, pay later and installment loans inside their own mobile apps. |
POLITICAL & LEGISLATIVE | ▸ | Miller replaces Wiles: President Trump said on November 6 that Stephen Miller will succeed Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, starting Monday. Politico reported that the move suggests the administration will veer harder to the right rather than toward compromise as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January. |
ALSO NOTED | ▸ | California's financial regulator ordered crypto ATM operator CoinFlip to pay $4.8 million to scam victims and criticized federal fraud oversight, Payments Dive said. | | ▸ | Advocacy groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on October 29 in federal court in Massachusetts over its Regulation B rewrite, also contesting the former acting director's authority, InfoBytes said. | | ▸ | Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Kalshi on November 4, alleging it offers illegal gambling to state residents, PYMNTS said. | | ▸ | Chainalysis took its login portal and its transaction-screening tools, including KYT and address screening, offline after a breach and began a phased restoration on November 6, BleepingComputer reported. | | ▸ | The Labor Department sent its final rule on alternative investments in 401(k) plans to the White House for review, Pensions & Investments said. |
WHAT IT MEANS | ▸ | FinCEN cut off MEXC on the same day it dropped a 2020 proposal that would have widened crypto-transfer recordkeeping. The withdrawn proposal, issued with the Fed, would have lowered the Travel Rule threshold for cross-border transfers from $3,000 to $250 and said convertible virtual currency counts as money. The MEXC order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. |
Dates That Matter NOV 9
2d | Comments close: Political Contributions by Certain Investment Advisers [SEC] | NOV 18
11d | Comments close: Further Definition of “Swap”-Inclusions [CFTC] · Further Definition of “Swap” To Exclude Casino-Style Gambling Products [CFTC] | NOV 20
13d | Comments close: Proxy Solicitation Modernization [SEC] · Rescission of Rule 14a-8's Federal Regulation of Shareholder Proposals and Amendments [SEC] | NOV 20
13d | Watch: D. Or. 3:26-cv-01672-SI: ruling expected on the OCC's Oct 5, 2026 motion to dismiss [Watch] | NOV 23
16d | Comments close: State Bank Parity [FDIC] · Merger Transactions [FDIC] |
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EARNINGS WATCH
| EPS | $0.47 GAAP vs $0.39 est | | Revenue | $1.3B vs $1.2B est |
Rev growth +35.0% YoY | Op. margin 14.8% | TPV $14.4B | Users 28.7M |
Guided fiscal 2027 GMV to more than $65.25 billion; ex-Peloton 30+ day delinquencies rose 35 basis points quarter over quarter to 2.9%. |
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Today's inputs
| 40 docs | 20 high priority | 31 social | 343 news |
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That's today's brief. A short note: the same engine that writes it each morning now runs inside banks and fintechs — scoped to your charter, your regulator, and your data, cited to primary text. It drafts and reviews policies, preps Call Reports, and turns what changed into what it means for us. See LexRegulator.com, or simply reply to this email.
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