President Donald Trump initiated formal proceedings to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud claims, while the Federal Reserve approved Banco Santander's $12.3 billion acquisition of Webster Financial. Meanwhile, Broadcom lost its EU court challenge regarding antitrust inspections, and the OCC rejected Bunq's U.S. bank charter application.
Broadcom Loses Court Bid to Block EU Antitrust Request for US Legal Documents
Broadcom stock slipped 0.3% on Monday after the EU General Court rejected its bid to block European regulators from demanding U.S.-based legal documents. The dispute stems from an ongoing investigation into Broadcom’s $69 billion 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- 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 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.
Why this matters
Cross-border M&A faces escalating regulatory friction as European antitrust authorities increasingly disregard non-EU legal protections to scrutinize post-acquisition commercial integration strategies.
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. 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.
Why this matters
Regulators are tightening cross-border fintech expansion, forcing investors to price in severe governance execution risk and partnership dependencies for international business models aiming to enter domestic markets.
Senator Lummis pushes for CLARITY Act vote before August recess
Senate Majority Leader John Thune delayed a vote on the Digital 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 ventures in 2025. Concurrently, banking lobbyists pushed back against provisions, arguing that unconstrained stablecoin rewards would drain core bank . 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.
Why this matters
Protracted regulatory gridlock delays institutional capital deployment into digital assets while exposing persistent friction between emerging crypto models and established commercial banking frameworks.
Rest of the brief
4 more stories in today’s Government & Policy, with the figures and the framing that go with them.
