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Financial Services UK
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April 29, 2024
Trade Bodies Want Gov't Action Over 'Damaging' FCA Rules
A group of 16 financial services trade bodies has called on HM Treasury to intervene over recent Financial Conduct Authority proposals to name companies under investigation, saying the plans could have "damaging consequences" for the U.K.
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April 30, 2024
CORRECTED: Marketing Boss Said LC&F Was A Legitimate Biz, Not A 'Rinse'
The head of a marketing company who referred to London Capital & Finance as a "not a rinse" insisted he was not aware of an alleged Ponzi scheme as he gave evidence on Monday at the trial over the £237 million ($296 million) investment scandal. Correction: An earlier version of the story misstated the content of Careless' 2015 email exchange. The error has been corrected.
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April 29, 2024
FCA To Get Extra Data To Police Consumer Credit Lending
The City watchdog set out on Monday final rules that will require consumer credit lenders to give it more detailed data, enabling it to act against problem companies.
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April 29, 2024
Hipgnosis Backs Blackstone's New $1.6B Offer In Bidding War
Blackstone said on Monday that the directors of music rights company Hipgnosis Songs will back a new $1.6 billion offer by the private equity giant after they said they would withdraw their backing for an earlier $1.5 billion bid from a U.S. competitor, Concord Chorus.
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April 29, 2024
Simmons-Led REIT Buys Carrefour Stores For €75M
Supermarket Income REIT PLC said on Monday that it has bought a portfolio of Carrefour supermarkets for €75.3 million ($80.6 million) in a sale and leaseback transaction, as the property investor eyes entry into the French real estate market.
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April 26, 2024
ECJ OKs Later Limits For Borrowers Stuck With Unfair Contracts
Consumers should not be time-barred from seeking repayment of costs stemming from unfair contract terms because they were unaware of the unfairness, but the clock should start ticking in the event of a court decision to that effect, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday.
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April 26, 2024
Freshfields Guides PE Giant CVC Capital's Upsized $2.1B IPO
European private equity giant CVC Capital Partners PLC rose in debut trading Friday after the firm priced an upsized €2 billion ($2.1 billion) initial public offering, marking the latest high-profile listing in Europe, represented by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.
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April 26, 2024
UK Gov't Rejects Lawmakers' Criticism Of Edinburgh Reforms
The U.K. government has rejected criticisms from the Treasury Committee that the post-Brexit financial services reform program is moving too slowly, claiming the changes are on track in a letter published Friday.
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April 26, 2024
FCA Defends Naming Firms Under Investigation
The Financial Conduct Authority on Friday defended its proposed naming of companies under investigation in a letter to a House of Lords committee.
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April 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Recruiter Can't Bring Claim Over 'Eye-Rolling' Boss
A former HSBC recruiter with an obsessive-compulsive disorder can't sue the bank for disability bias over his manager's eye-rolling after a tribunal ruled the claim was brought too late.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Beats Investors' £1.3B Disney Film Scheme Fraud Case
HSBC fended off on Friday a £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) fraud claim brought by hundreds of investors who alleged the bank misled them into financing a Disney movie tax relief scheme it developed which turned out to be worthless.
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April 25, 2024
Law Firm Escapes £68M Ponzi Fraud Negligence Claim
Lupton Fawcett LLP has averted a £68 million ($85 million) professional negligence claim against it, as a London court ruled the claimants' alleged loss as victims of a Ponzi fraud could not be linked to the law firm's actions.
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April 25, 2024
UN Insurance Climate Group Relaunched After Backlash
An alliance of global insurers formed to accelerate the sector's move to a carbon-neutral economy was replaced on Thursday by a group encompassing less stringent requirements, after attempts to establish shared climate efforts prompted legal and regulatory backlash last year.
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April 25, 2024
Ex-Locke Lord Atty Loses Fight To Challenge Fraud Sentence
A London appellate court on Thursday blocked Locke Lord LLP's former banking partner from challenging his prison sentence for taking part in a £21 million ($26.2 million) Ponzi scheme.
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April 25, 2024
Standards Setter Unveils Toolbox for Central Counterparties
A global standards setter released a new toolbox Thursday to ensure that national authorities have access to adequate financial resources and tools to address the failure of central counterparties, which are essential to financial markets.
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April 25, 2024
Firms Urge Delays To 'Unclear' FCA Greenwashing Guidance
Financial companies are urging the City watchdog to slow its anti-greenwashing rule that comes in force in May as legal experts warn that it has failed to clarify all its expectations in final guidance, putting businesses that make the wrong call at risk of enforcement action.
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April 25, 2024
Hipgnosis Ditches Blackstone Bid For Concord's $1.5B Offer
Hipgnosis Songs has accepted a revised offer from its U.S. competitor Concord Chorus to buy the music rights investor for $1.5 billion, ditching Blackstone's $1.2 billion offer just days after accepting the private equity giant's deal.
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April 25, 2024
EU Parliament Gives Final Approval To AML Package
The European Parliament has given the final go-ahead to a package of laws to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, creating a single rule book and establishing a dedicated agency for the bloc.
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April 24, 2024
Ex-Autonomy GC Tells Jurors He Wanted To Be 'Helpful' To HP
Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel conceded Wednesday in the criminal trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he told an HP lawyer he wanted to be as "helpful" as possible to the company as it was investigating Autonomy-related issues that popped up after the Silicon Valley giant purchased the British company, and that he was told he could face liability for his work at Autonomy.
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April 24, 2024
Klarna Trims Down Basque Bank's European Logo TM
Buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna has won its fight to restrict trademark registration for a Spanish bank's logo, blocking protection in a myriad of categories ranging from laundry detergent to musical instruments.
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April 24, 2024
Oligarch's Family Can't Nix €1.5B Bankruptcy Bid
The widow and a daughter of the late Russian cement oligarch Oleg Bourlakov stumbled in their global legal battle with relatives over his fortune after a London judge declined to stop €1.48 billion ($1.59 billion) bankruptcy proceedings in St. Petersburg.
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April 24, 2024
Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge
An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.
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April 24, 2024
Fund Manager Denies Losing Jailed Politician's Wife £8M
A fund manager has denied transferring €28 million ($30 million) from the account of an imprisoned Turkish politician's wife without her permission, claiming she gave written instructions to invest the money in emerging markets.
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April 24, 2024
EU Keeps Gibraltar, Panama, UAE On AML Blacklist
Gibraltar, Panama and the United Arab Emirates should remain on the European Union's blacklist of high-risk countries for money laundering, the European Parliament said, stopping the EU from following the lead of a global organization promoting standards for countries to fight those crimes.
Expert Analysis
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Exploring UK Regulatory Reform Amid Global Bank Failures
In light of recent high-profile bank failures and the publication of a feedback statement to a U.K. regulatory review, the concern that banks are overly reluctant to use their stock begs the question whether regulators now need to rethink the operation of the liquidity coverage ratio, say Alix Prentice and Carl Hey at Cadwalader.
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Key Takeaways From Recent UK Insolvency Disputes
As recent insolvency statistics show that U.K. registered company insolvencies are up 16% compared to last year, having a strong understanding of recent key U.K. decisions and how insolvency disputes operate is more important for companies now than it has ever been, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Why The Draft UK Fraud Offense May Not Be A Game Changer
Although the U.K.’s proposed "failure to prevent fraud" offense will generate a need for large businesses to reassess their existing processes, given the long lead-in times for prosecutions and the Serious Fraud Office's current success rate, it seems unlikely that the corporate fraud landscape will be immediately transformed, say Charles Kuhn and Charlotte Gill at Clyde & Co.
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A Review Of The EU FDI Screening Regulation And Its Scope
The EU advocate general’s recent broad interpretation of the EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation takes account of some of the geopolitical challenges faced by the bloc, and may foreshadow a revision of the regulation and widen the scope of investments screened, say Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring.
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Key Takeaways From EU Proposal For Greenwashing Rules
If the proposal for a Green Claims Directive, with its enhanced rules on claims about a product or trader's environmental impact, is adopted, it will affect all businesses selling their products in the EU and bring major changes to the way those products are packaged and advertised, say attorneys at Shearman.
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How EU ESG Regs Affect US Financial Market Participants
The European Commission recently confirmed that the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation applies to all funds marketed in the EU, so affected U.S. financial market participants will need to consider the new guidance on principal adverse impacts, sustainable investments and promotion of carbon emissions reductions, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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UK Plan For AI Rules Raises Compliance Questions For Cos.
The U.K. government's proposal for a new, clear and pro-innovation regulatory framework on artificial intelligence diverges from the European Union's approach, which may create incoherence and compliance burdens for businesses operating in both jurisdictions, says attorneys at Akin Gump.
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UK Investment Screening Inches Closer To US Regime
The recent agreement between the U.K. Cabinet Office and House of Commons concerning parliamentary scrutiny of the Investment Security Unit represents a step toward greater transparency of intervention in investments that may raise national security concerns, and underscores increasing alignment with the U.S. regime, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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UK Ruling May Affect 3rd-Party Fraud Liability Post-Insolvency
While the recent Court of Appeal decision in Tradition Financial Services v. Bilta could make Section 213 of the Insolvency Act a powerful tool for liquidators, it also heightens the risk of companies tangentially involved in fraud being subject to claims following insolvency, say attorneys at Dechert.
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5 Ways For A Legal Practice To Close Technology Gaps
With technology a driving force for success, the U.K. legal sector must embrace innovation to maintain its competitive edge, and investing in new processes is no longer optional, says Gareth Preece at Doherty Associates.
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UK Ruling Offers Useful Guidance To Insolvency Practitioners
The recent U.K. High Court ruling in a matter involving Sova Capital represents the first unsecured credit bid to be approved by an English court, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to complex sanctions-related administrations and identifying a novel solution for insolvency practitioners to maximize value for the benefit of creditors, say attorneys at Katten.
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The FCA's Timely Plan To Reform Asset Management Regime
The discussion paper recently issued by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority finally addresses how, in the future, asset management regulation will work in totality from an investor, manager and distributor perspective, and its review of the purpose and balance of the regime is welcomed, says Tim Dolan at Greenberg Traurig.
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UK's Draft Fraud Offense And How It May Affect Companies
The new U.K. corporate criminal offense of "failing to prevent fraud," recently published in draft form, will make it easier for prosecutions to be brought against companies, with no need to show that the "directing mind and will" of a company were involved in the fraud, say attorneys at Allen & Overy.
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Questions Raised By UK Plan For ESG Ratings Providers
HM Treasury is taking steps toward regulating environmental, social and corporate governance ratings providers, aiming to ensure adequate protection for U.K. users and level the playing field, but the potential new regime risks imposing undue regulatory burden and overlapping requirements on U.K. and overseas firms, say Ferdisha Snagg and Andreas Wildner at Cleary.
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Why The Royal Mint Failed To Launch An NFT
Without a clear objective it is unsurprising that The Royal Mint’s attempt to launch a nonfungible token ended with a whimper rather than bang, says Dion Seymour at Andersen.