The Federal Register of Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 carries one of the more consequential financial-regulatory filings of the quarter: a 136-page Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposal that would rewrite how the agency processes bank mergers, including a new “deemed approval” track for smaller transactions. Alongside it, the issue contains two executive orders on hunting and saltwater fishing signed Sept. 17, a Securities and Exchange Commission order opening a five-year window for tokenized stock trading, and a proposed $100 million Federal Trade Commission consent order against a Nasdaq-listed payments company and its chief executive.
The following is The Investigative Journal’s daily review of notable entries. Document numbers, agency dockets and comment deadlines are drawn directly from the filings as placed on public inspection by the Office of the Federal Register.
1. FDIC proposes a structural overhaul of bank merger review
The FDIC is seeking comment on a proposed rule (RIN 3064-AG18) that would amend 12 CFR parts 303, 314 and 333 and, in the agency’s own words, “fundamentally reform important aspects of the FDIC’s approach to processing and evaluating merger transactions subject to the Bank Merger Act.” The filing runs 136 pages.
Several changes stand out. The proposal would create a new category of “de minimis merger transactions” eligible for rapid processing with deemed approval — meaning qualifying deals would clear by operation of the rule rather than by affirmative agency action. To qualify, the assets acquired would have to fall below the adjusted Clayton Act threshold as amended by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and represent less than 5 percent of the acquiring institution’s assets, with the resulting institution well-capitalized. The proposal would also eliminate the public comment period for transactions in that category, and would raise the asset-transfer ceiling for certain qualifying corporate reorganizations from 10 percent to 25 percent of the acquirer’s total assets as reported in its most recent Call Report.
Equally notable for competition analysis: the FDIC proposes to account for credit unions and centrally booked deposits in its initial competitive-effects screen. The preamble argues that the current framework is outdated because “banking and financial services have become far more competitive in the decades since the BMA was enacted,” citing the growth of credit unions, fintechs, money market funds, independent mortgage companies and private credit. The proposal would additionally limit and clarify the agency’s discretion to remove a filing from expedited processing — a change that filings indicate would reduce the FDIC’s latitude to slow-walk applications it has already accepted for the fast track. Comments are due 60 days after publication, placing the deadline in late November. Read the proposal.
2. A second FDIC proposal would extend national-bank preemption to state banks
Filed the same morning, a companion FDIC proposal (RIN 3064-AG34, 12 CFR part 331) would recognize what the agency calls “parity between out-of-State State banks and national banks concerning the application of host State laws.” Under the proposal, where a host state’s laws do not apply to a national bank, those laws “would similarly not apply to an out-of-State State bank providing services in the host State with or without a branch.”
The mechanism runs through section 24(j) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The practical effect, as the filing describes it, would be to align the preemption posture of state-chartered banks operating across state lines with that of federally chartered institutions. Because host-state consumer protection, licensing and lending statutes are the usual subject of such disputes, the proposal is likely to draw comment from state attorneys general and state banking supervisors as well as from industry. Comments are due 60 days after publication. Read the proposal.
3. SEC grants five-year conditional relief for tokenized stock venues
The Commission issued an order (Release No. 34-106402; File No. 4-927) granting temporary conditional exemptions under section 36(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act. The order exempts “Tokenized Securities Venues” from the definition of “exchange” in section 3(a)(1), and exempts certain liquidity providers from the “dealer” definition in section 3(a)(5), for permissioned trading of tokenized National Market System stock through automated market makers and liquidity pools.
The relief is bounded. The order states it is “[s]et to expire five years after publication” and is framed as “an interim, targeted measure” while the Commission considers a permanent framework. Volume caps are tied to the Limit Up-Limit Down Plan tiers: venues may not exceed 75 symbols and 0.25 percent of prior-month average daily share volume for Tier 1 stocks — a group that includes S&P 500 and Russell 1000 constituents — and 250 symbols and 2.5 percent of prior-month average daily volume for Tier 2. Affiliated venues must aggregate their volumes and symbol counts, a provision the order says is intended to prevent firms from subdividing into multiple entities to stay under the caps. The order also requests public comment. Read the order.
4. Two executive orders on hunting and recreational fishing
Executive Order 14429, “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage,” directs the Secretary of the Interior within 90 days to allow hunting of species not subject to 16 U.S.C. 1533 within Castle Mountains National Monument and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, stating a determination that “appropriately managed hunting would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that these monuments protect at risk.” Within 180 days, the Departments of War, Interior, Agriculture and Commerce are to propose policy or regulatory modifications applying a general presumption in favor of hunting access outside national parks, permitting assistive technology on access trails, and permitting “the use of traditional lead ammunition and tackle.”
The order also directs the Agriculture Secretary within 60 days to reform high-demand Forest Service river access lotteries to prioritize U.S. citizens, including prior unsuccessful applicants, and to prohibit automatic computer entries. Additional provisions address migratory game bird hunting procedures, Sunday hunting on state and federal lands, federal education funding guidance for archery and hunter education programs, and wild game venison donation through the Emergency Food Assistance Program and Pittman-Robertson funds.
Executive Order 14430, “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation,” states that the outdoor recreation sector “generates over $1.2 trillion annually and supports over 5 million jobs.” It directs the Commerce Secretary within 180 days to review Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standard guidelines — specifically National Standard 1 (optimum yield) and National Standard 2 (best scientific information available) — for consistency with the order. It further directs NOAA to evaluate the statistical reliability of mail-in survey systems for recreational catch data and to consider establishing a Percent Standard Error threshold above which state-collected data would replace Marine Recreational Information Program data in management decisions. Other sections direct a federal Outer Continental Shelf “Reef-in-Place” program within 60 days converting decommissioned offshore structures into artificial reefs — expressly excluding infrastructure associated with offshore wind facilities — and a transition toward multi-year permits of at least three years with a presumption of renewal for permittees in good standing. Both orders were signed Sept. 17, 2026, and contain standard language stating they create no enforceable rights.
5. FTC seeks comment on $100 million consent order with Corpay and its CEO
The Commission placed on the public record a proposed consent order (Docket No. 9403) with Corpay, Inc., formerly known as FleetCor Technologies, and its chief executive, Ronald Clarke. According to the FTC’s analysis accompanying the filing, the Commission’s five-count complaint alleged the respondents, who market fuel cards used predominantly by small businesses, violated section 5 of the FTC Act by charging unauthorized fees — including late fees to customers who had paid on time — and by misrepresenting gas savings, fraud-control features and fees.
These are findings, not open allegations. The analysis states that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia determined both respondents had violated the FTC Act and entered a permanent injunction, and that the Eleventh Circuit affirmed liability as to Corpay on all five counts in FTC v. Corpay, Inc., 164 F.4th 807 (11th Cir. 2026). The appeals court found Clarke liable on four of the five counts and vacated the injunction as to him. Under the proposed agreement, the respondents would not oppose entry against Clarke of the same injunction, minus two subparts tied to the count on which he prevailed.
Provision I of the proposed order requires the respondents to pay $100,000,000 in monetary relief, with further provisions requiring customer information to administer consumer redress. The order would terminate in 20 years if obligations are met. The order is proposed and not final: the Commission will review comments after 30 days and then decide whether to make it final or withdraw. Comments are due on or about Oct. 22, 2026. The Investigative Journal will publish any statement the named parties provide. Read the notice.
6. FDA replaces “animal” with “nonclinical” across five regulatory parts
The Food and Drug Administration issued a direct final rule (RIN 0910-AJ27; Docket No. FDA-2026-N-5347) amending 21 CFR parts 312, 314, 315, 361 and 601 to substitute references to “animal” tests or studies with “nonclinical” tests or studies, and to substitute “nonclinical” for “preclinical” and “in vitro.” The rule adds definitions for “nonclinical test” and “nonclinical study.”
The agency states the amendments “align with recent amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act” and are “intended to remove an emphasis, in certain places, on the use of animal testing as the only scientific methodology to assess the safety of a drug in the nonclinical setting.” The rule “adds no new requirements,” per the summary. FDA is proceeding by direct final rule on the view that the changes are noncontroversial, and filed a companion proposed rule (2026-19349) as a procedural backstop. The rule is effective Feb. 4, 2027, with comments due Dec. 7, 2026; if the agency receives significant adverse comments, it has committed to withdrawing the direct final rule within 30 days of the comment period’s close. Read the rule.
7. GSA moves Federal Supply Schedule rules out of the FAR
The General Services Administration proposed (GSAR Case 2026-G501; RIN 3090-AL13) to move Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures from FAR subpart 8.4 into GSAR part 538 at 48 CFR. The filing identifies the action as implementing Executive Order 14275 and OMB Memorandum M-25-26, the initiative the FAR Council calls the “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul.”
The quantitative claim in the preamble is specific: the proposal “streamlines the Federal Supply Ordering procedures at FAR 8.4 from over 10,000 words to approximately 2,600.” GSA estimates familiarization costs of $1,390,830 for ordering activities, based on roughly 42,000 federal employees in the 1102, 1103 and 1104 acquisition job series, plus $567,775 for FSS contractors and prospective offerors and $33,115 to update program resources. The agency reports approximately 14,000 active FSS vendors at the end of fiscal 2025, of which about 12,400 — 89 percent — were small businesses.
Accountability-relevant provisions are worth flagging. The proposed text states ordering activities are not required to make a fair and reasonable price determination at the order or BPA level for items already priced in a contractor’s FSS contract, and are not required to have evaluation plans, score quotations or establish a competitive range. Sole-source justifications above the simplified acquisition threshold would still have to be published within 14 days of award — 30 days for urgency-based justifications — and remain posted at least 30 days. GSA designated the action significant under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. Comments are due 30 days after publication. Read the proposal.
8. Energy Department revisits contractor whistleblower procedures
The DOE Office of Hearings and Appeals proposed amendments to 10 CFR part 708 (RIN 1910-AA55; Docket DOE-HQ-2026-0496), the rules governing complaints by contractor employees alleging retaliation for disclosing “dangers to public or worker health or safety, substantial violations of law, or gross mismanagement,” for participating in congressional proceedings, or for refusing to participate in dangerous activities.
The 41-page filing describes the revisions as clarifying deadlines and tolling practices, updating references to DOE officials and offices, and making conforming grammatical changes. The agency notes the rule was last updated in 2019 and that the proposed changes are “intended to address areas of potential confusion and bring the regulations in line with current practice.” Deadline and tolling mechanics are frequently outcome-determinative in retaliation cases, which makes this a filing worth reading in full rather than by summary. Comments are due 30 days after publication. Read the proposal.
9. FCC reopens the record on a five-year-old D.C. Circuit remand
The Commission’s Office of Engineering and Technology issued a public notice (ET Docket No. 13-84; DA 26-997) seeking comment on radiofrequency exposure issues remanded in Environmental Health Trust v. FCC, 9 F.4th 893 (D.C. Cir. 2021). The notice emphasizes that the panel did not vacate the Commission’s 2019 decision and upheld its determination that RF exposure below current limits does not cause cancer, but directed the agency to explain three matters: its retention of testing procedures for portable devices; the effects of RF radiation on children, long-term exposure and device ubiquity; and environmental impacts.
The notice signals how the agency intends to weigh submissions, stating it does not anticipate affording significant weight to “meta-analyses that simply compile studies marked by wide ranges in scientific rigor” or to “unverifiable or repetitive testimonial submissions.” Comments are due 30 days after publication. Read the notice.
Items relevant to TIJ’s investigative beats
Defense transfers. The Defense Department filed ten separate arms sales notices for publication in a single issue (document numbers 2026-19316 through 2026-19327). Arms sale notices published under 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act are among the few routinely available public records of proposed major defense transfers, and a ten-notice day is above the ordinary run.
China trade enforcement. The International Trade Administration filed nine antidumping and countervailing duty actions, including proceedings on certain brake drums from the People’s Republic of China (2026-19372), steel wire garment hangers from China and Vietnam (2026-19376), and linear hydraulic cylinders from Canada, China, India, South Korea and Mexico (2026-19374).
Sanctions. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control filed a sanctions action notice (2026-19287) identifying persons whose property is blocked. Separately, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security filed guidance on tariff adjustments for specialty pharmaceuticals and associated ingredients under Proclamation 11020 (2026-19498), scheduled for publication Sept. 23.
Also filed. NOAA proposed Amendment 38 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan with 2027–28 biennial specifications, a 104-page document (2026-19346). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed incorporating a 50th-percentile adult male anthropomorphic test device (2026-19370). The Maritime Administration proposed a revision to the Capital Construction Fund (2026-19367). The Comptroller of the Currency and FDIC each filed corrections to their “Unsafe or Unsound Practices, Matters Requiring Attention” rule (2026-19312).
Federal Register Watch is compiled daily from documents placed on public inspection by the Office of the Federal Register. Comment deadlines calculated from the publication date are approximate where the agency’s filing used a calculated date; readers should confirm deadlines against the published document before filing. All characterizations above are drawn from the filings themselves.
Sources
- Office of the Federal Register, Public Inspection Desk, Sept. 21, 2026
- FDIC, Merger Transactions, RIN 3064-AG18
- FDIC, State Bank Parity, RIN 3064-AG34
- SEC, Release No. 34-106402, File No. 4-927
- Executive Order 14429 | Executive Order 14430
- FTC, Docket No. 9403, Corpay/FleetCor consent order analysis
- FDA, Nonclinical Testing Terminology, RIN 0910-AJ27
- GSA, GSAR Case 2026-G501, RIN 3090-AL13
- DOE Office of Hearings and Appeals, RIN 1910-AA55
- FCC, ET Docket No. 13-84, DA 26-997