On November 26, 2025, the sovereign wealth fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), filed a lawsuit in the Chancery Court of Delaware against Energy & Minerals Group LP and several affiliate private investment funds (collectively EMG). The complaint seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the sale of an EMG portfolio company, Ascent Resources LLC, to a continuation vehicle that is also managed by EMG in a so-called “GP-led secondary” transaction. ADIC alleges that by selling to a continuation fund, EMG is engaging in self-dealing in breach of its fiduciary duties as manager of the selling private investment fund, in which ADIC is also a limited partner.

On November 13, 2025, following the end of the federal government shutdown, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance that offers much‑needed clarity to issuers, underwriters, and advisors navigating filings made during and immediately after the shutdown. With more than 900 registration statements filed during the shutdown, questions quickly mounted regarding automatic effectiveness, the treatment of missing information under Rule 430A, acceleration mechanics, and the status of filings already in the review pipeline. The staff (the Staff) of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the Division) addressed these topics directly through a series of Questions and Answers. This alert explains the guidance, describes the practical implications for capital markets and M&A participants, and recommends near‑term steps to adapt filing and transaction timelines.

Winston’s Financial Services Industry Group is closely monitoring debanking regulations and advising global financial institutions on customer onboarding and due diligence.

In this alert, Jack Knight, Carl Fornaris, Patrick Doerr, and Arman Aboutorabi examine Senator Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) proposed Ensuring Fair Access to Banking Act. Although the bill is nominally designed to “limit the circumstances under which a Federal financial regulator may require a financial institution to terminate a specific account,” it in fact proposes much more.

Senator Thom Tillis’s discussion draft of the Ensuring Fair Access to Banking Act would create a single federal “fair access” standard prohibiting “debanking” except in defined circumstances, grant enforcement authority to federal and state regulators, and preempt state fair-access laws. These changes could impact account-opening, maintenance, and exit decisions and increase litigation exposure. Read the full alert for key implications, open questions, and practical steps institutions can take now.