Fintech · Industry brief

""

The Federal Trade Commission imposed a record $12 million penalty against Edwards Lifesciences Corp. and Genesis MedTech Group on July 13, 2026, for structuring their transaction to unlawfully avoid Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act premerger notification requirements. Edwards acquired medical device maker JC Medical from Genesis for $115 million plus a contemporaneous $25 million investment, with the FTC alleging the investment was disguised consideration designed to keep the total acquisition price below the $119.5 million HSR filing threshold. Edwards paid $10 million of the fine and Genesis paid $2 million. The settlement requires Edwards to provide advance notice of future acquisitions in the same product area for five years and implement a comprehensive antitrust compliance program with a designated Compliance Officer. This enforcement action is notable for penalizing both the buyer and seller for participating in the alleged evasion scheme, signaling the FTC's willingness to pursue sellers alongside buyers in HSR avoidance cases.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman emphasized that AI governance and controls in financial institutions should be tailored to specific use cases and their materiality to business operations, with regulatory scrutiny proportional to risk level and institution size. The Blockchain Association urged the CFTC to adopt a technology-neutral, principles-based framework for blockchain financial infrastructure, recommending separate rulebooks for blockchain operations, clarified treatment of smart contracts, tokenized collateral provisions, and tailored compliance expectations for blockchain-native systems. FINRA modernized Rule 2210 to replace default pre-use approval for retail communications with a risk-based framework, eliminate distinctions between static and interactive social media, apply the same standards to AI-generated content and finfluencer activity, and require firms to document governance procedures by September 11. The SEC argued in a Texas federal court that crypto mining service agreements constitute investment contracts subject to securities laws, claiming investors had minimal control over equipment and rewards despite defendant arguments otherwise. Kalshi filed an interlocutory appeal of a federal court decision that declined to block New York state regulators from enforcing gambling laws against prediction market contracts, as the CFTC and multiple states continue asserting competing jurisdiction.

Federal banking regulators issued interagency guidance on July 1, 2026, directing supervised financial institutions to heighten scrutiny of credit risk when lending to individuals not legally authorized to work in the U.S. The guidance was jointly issued by the OCC, FDIC, and NCUA in response to Executive Order 14406 (May 2026) and follows the CFPB's June 2026 statement on ability to repay and immigration status. The guidance emphasizes elevated risks including employment termination, income instability, collateral enforcement challenges, and portfolio concentration risk if immigration enforcement targets specific regions or industries. Regulators clarified that institutions may and must consider immigration status in ability-to-repay determinations under TILA and may consider it under ECOA. The guidance does not create new legal requirements but signals that examiners will scrutinize how institutions manage this risk; notably, the Federal Reserve Board did not join the other federal banking agencies in issuing the guidance.