Government and Policy Sector

Broadcom stock slipped 0.3% on Monday after the EU General Court rejected its bid to block European antitrust regulators from demanding U.S.-based legal documents. The dispute stems from an ongoing investigation into Broadcom’s $69 billion acquisition of software provider VMware in 2023. European Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe, a trade group representing nearly 50 local cloud providers alongside members Microsoft and Amazon, filed a complaint in March 2026 alleging that post-merger licensing changes squeezed out European partners. When the European Commission ordered Broadcom to hand over documents created by its U.S. legal advisers, Broadcom fought the demand in court, arguing the papers were protected under American attorney-client privilege. The court ruled against the chipmaker, holding that European regulators determine what evidence they need and warning that corporate carve-outs would hobble EU antitrust enforcement. The decision exploits a structural legal rift: while U.S. law protects communications with internal corporate counsel, EU privilege applies almost exclusively to external, independent lawyers. The ruling does not establish a competition violation, but it exposes Broadcom's internal strategic documents and legal communications to European investigators.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied Dutch neobank Bunq's application for a U.S. de novo bank charter, according to reporting by americanbanker.com. The federal regulator rejected the Amsterdam-based digital lender's second push into the American market, citing a lack of U.S. credit and regulatory experience among its proposed directors, unconvincing capitalization plans, and vague profitability projections. Without a banking charter, Bunq cannot directly take U.S. deposits or issue loans, leaving its American strategy anchored strictly to its FINRA broker-dealer license. The decision follows the agency's rejection of money transfer service Wise over anti-money laundering concerns a month earlier. While the regulator approved multiple other fintech charters earlier this year, it is blocking cross-border apps that fail to prove governance and financial stability for local operations. Bunq has not declared whether it will submit a third application, though the agency's decision letter leaves the door open for future filings.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune delayed a vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act until mid-September 2026, defeating efforts led by Senator Cynthia Lummis to force a vote before the August recess. The legislation requires 60 votes to clear a Senate filibuster, but leadership failed to assemble a majority following opposition from both parties. Democrats refused to advance the bill without tighter ethics restrictions targeting public officials, citing President Donald Trump's disclosure of earning more than $1 billion from digital asset ventures in 2025. Concurrently, banking lobbyists pushed back against stablecoin provisions, arguing that unconstrained stablecoin rewards would drain core bank deposits. That banking opposition split the Republican conference, with Senators Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran publicly withholding support. The bill lacks the votes to proceed. The postponement leaves digital asset firms without a federal market structure framework and forces lawmakers to revisit the bill during a narrow three-week session starting September 14, 2026, just weeks before the midterm elections.