Expert Analysis

• FCA's Regulatory Plans Signal Cause For Cautious Optimism

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s latest strategy document plans for less intrusive supervision, a more open and collaborative approach, and a focus on assertive action where needed, outlining a vision of deepened trust and rebalanced risk that will be welcomed by all those it regulates, says Imogen Makin at WilmerHale.

• How CMA Is Responding To UK Gov't Pro-Growth Agenda

  

  With the U.K. government’s recent call for the Competition and Markets Authority and other regulators to better support economic growth, the competition policy landscape is shifting materially toward an emphasis on a more proportionate and targeted approach to merger enforcement, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

• US Diversity Policies Present Challenges To UK And EU Cos.

  

  Following President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders calling for increased scrutiny of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, it is clear that global businesses operating in the U.K. and European Union will need to understand regional nuances to successfully navigate differing agendas on either side of the Atlantic, say lawyers at Jenner & Block.

• Updated EU Procedure Streamlines Data Transfer Approval

  

  The European Data Protection Board’s updated approval procedure for binding corporate rules for transfers of personal data to non-European Union countries promotes consistency for regulator communications during the application process, and sets expectations for processing timelines, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

• What Cos. Must Note From FCA Bulletin On Leaking M&A Info

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent bulletin on strategic leaks in merger and acquisition transactions, as the second such publication in four months, acts as a warning for issuers and their advisers to tighten up their current policies for handling inside information, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.

• FCA's Odey Decision Is Wake-Up Call For Financial Firms

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority recently banned hedge fund boss Crispin Odey from working in financial services, underscoring the critical importance the regulator places on whether individuals are fit and proper to perform regulated activities, and the connection between nonfinancial misconduct and the integrity of the financial markets, say lawyers at Pallas Partners.

• How Ransomware Payment Reforms Could Affect UK Cos.

  

  The Home Office’s recent proposals to ban ransomware payments by publicly owned bodies is a welcome first step in its aims to tackle the cybercrime industry, but the risk remains that hackers will now focus on private companies that are still permitted to pay a ransom, says Dominic Holden at Lawrence Stephens.

• Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

  

  Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

• Rising To The Task Of Online Safety Act Compliance

  

  The arrival of the Online Safety Act’s deadlines for all in-scope services and children’s access in March and April, enabling the Office of Communications to begin enforcing safety duties regarding illegal content, presents formidable compliance challenges for affected businesses, says Louisa Chambers at Travers Smith.

• Google Win Illustrates Hurdles To Mass Data Privacy Claims

  

  The Court of Appeal's December decision in Prismall v. Google, holding each claimant in a mass data privacy suit must demonstrate an individualized and sufficiently serious injury, demonstrates the difficulty of using representative action to collect damages for misused private information, say lawyers at Seladore Legal.

• What To Know About FCA's UK Listing Rules Proposal

  

  A recent consultation paper from the Financial Conduct Authority aims to streamline the securities-listing process for U.K.-regulated markets, including by allowing issuers to submit a single application for all securities of the same class, and aligning the disclosure standards for low-denomination and wholesale bonds, say lawyers at Debevoise.

• Opinion

  UK Gov't Needs To Take Action To Support Whistleblowing Bill

  

  With a proposed Office of the Whistleblower Bill making its way through the U.K. Parliament, whistleblowing is starting to receive the attention it deserves, but the key to unlocking real change is for the government to take ownership of reform proposals and appoint an overarching whistleblowing champion, says Baroness Susan Kramer at the House of Lords.

• Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

  

  Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

• New UK Short Selling Rules Diverge From EU Regs

  

  Although forthcoming changes to the U.K.’s short selling regulatory regime represent a welcome relaxation of restrictions and simplification of reporting processes, participants active in both the U.K. and EU markets will need to ensure compliance with two quite different sets of rules, says Ezra Zahabi at Akin.

• How New EU Product Liability Directive Will Affect Tech And AI

  

  While the European Union’s new defective product liability directive, effective from December 2026, primarily provides clarifications rather than significant changes, it reflects the EU's commitment to addressing consumer protection and accountability challenges presented by the digital economy and artificial intelligence, say lawyers at Latham.