Federal Reserve Civil Money Penalties Remain Unchanged for 2026

You might care about this because the Federal Reserve System has announced that its civil money penalties, or CMPs, will not be increased for 2026. This notice from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System explains why. Federal law, specifically the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, requires government agencies to adjust their civil money penalties each year to keep up with inflation. The 2015 update to this act set a deadline of January 15 for these annual adjustments. For 2026, the adjustment would normally be based on the change in the Consumer Price Index between October 2024 and October 2025. However, there was a government shutdown. This shutdown caused the Bureau of Labor Statistics to miss producing the Consumer Price Index data for October 2025. Because this key piece of information was missing, the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, stepped in. On April 17, 2026, the OMB gave guidance to all affected agencies. They advised that there would be no new cost-of-living multiplier for 2026. Instead, agencies should continue to use the 2025 CMP levels. Therefore, the Federal Reserve's civil money penalty amounts that were put into effect on January 13, 2025, will stay the same throughout 2026. What is particularly interesting about this notice is how a seemingly unrelated event, like a government shutdown, can directly impact financial regulations. The lack of Consumer Price Index data due to the shutdown created a domino effect. It meant the standard legal process for adjusting penalties could not be followed. This shows that regulatory bodies like the Federal Reserve depend on data from other government offices to carry out their mandates. It also highlights the role of the Office of Management and Budget in providing clear instructions when unforeseen circumstances disrupt normal procedures. This situation demonstrates the interconnectedness of various government functions. It is not every day that a federal agency formally announces that a scheduled adjustment will not happen. This specific instance explains that the absence of a required data point can halt a routine annual process. Individuals and organizations most interested in this document include banks and other financial institutions. These entities are directly regulated by the Federal Reserve System and can be subject to civil money penalties. Understanding that these penalty amounts will remain unchanged for 2026 helps them with their planning and compliance efforts. Legal professionals who specialize in banking law, financial regulation, or administrative law will also find this notice relevant. Compliance officers within financial firms need to be aware of the current penalty structures. Additionally, economists or researchers studying the effects of government shutdowns on federal operations and data collection would find this a clear example. Anyone generally interested in how government agencies adapt to disruptions and maintain regulatory stability will also find this document insightful.