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Financial Services UK
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August 07, 2024
Thurrock Sues Advisers Over Bond Investment Guidance
A cash-strapped English local authority has sued Laven Advisors LLP for more than £20 million ($25.4 million), arguing that fraudulent statements by a representative of the regulatory host caused it to invest in high-risk bonds.
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August 07, 2024
Ex-Citibank Worker's Wages Claim Struck Out
An employment tribunal has refused to hear a former Citibank worker's claim that the lender unlawfully paid him nothing for his work, finding there is no evidence he did anything worth paying for after he knew his contract was terminated.
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August 07, 2024
Crypto-Asset Firms Must Improve On Compliance, FCA Says
The financial watchdog said Wednesday it has found that more work "needs to be done" to improve compliance with new marketing rules in many cases at crypto-asset companies
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August 07, 2024
Investment Co. Sues Rival Biz For Passing Off Qube TM
Qube Research & Technologies has sued a rival investment manager over the use of the word "Qube" in its branding, accusing it of trying to mislead consumers into believing that there is a connection between the companies.
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August 07, 2024
FCA Expands Leeds Office With 100 More Employees
Britain's financial watchdog announced plans on Wednesday to expand its presence in Leeds by adding 100 new employees to its workforce in the northern English city, reflecting the emergence of the region as a second financial center.
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August 07, 2024
Insurer Loses Appeal Over Romanian License Withdrawal
Euroins Insurance Group AD has lost its bid to challenge a refusal by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority to investigate why the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority withdrew the operating license of a subsidiary, the EU-wide regulator said Wednesday.
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August 07, 2024
Gov't Urges Pension Plans To Feed Infrastructure Spending
The government said Wednesday that it wants the U.K. to adopt a Canadian-style model for pensions, with a handful of megafunds investing in vital infrastructure projects to "fire up" the economy.
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August 07, 2024
EY Sanctioned For Breaching Fee Cap Over Russian Client
The accounting watchdog said Wednesday that it has ordered Ernst & Young LLP to pay just over £251,000 ($319,000) for breaching a fee cap on work it carried out for Evraz, a steel and mining group based in Russia.
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August 07, 2024
Asset Manager To Pay Investors €250M After FCA Probe
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that asset manager H20 AM LLP will pay €250 million ($272 million) to investors unable to gain access to funds since 2020 after the regulator found serious breaches of rules, including a failure to manage conflicts of interest and making false statements.
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August 06, 2024
Travel Biz Directors Misused Funds, Leaving £17.6M Shortfall
Directors of a defunct holiday tour operator left the company with a £17.6 million ($22.3 million) shortfall after racking up debts that were used to pay personal bills and transfer money to relatives, a London judge ruled Tuesday
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August 13, 2024
Davis Polk Hires PE Pro From A&O Shearman In London
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP said Tuesday that it has hired a private equity specialist from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling as a partner in its London corporate practice as the U.S. firm looks to seize "ripe" opportunities for growth in the City.
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August 06, 2024
Forfeiture Gives NCA's Rarely Used 'McMafia' Order A Boost
The seizure by the National Crime Agency of £22 million ($28 million) in properties from a banker's wife who is in prison allowed it to display its "McMafia" powers, although lawyers still have doubts about the future of the rarely-used enforcement tool.
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August 06, 2024
Senior SFO Official Heads For Exit After Less Than 2 Years
The Serious Fraud Office's chief operating officer is set to leave after less than two years on the job, leaving a vacancy at the top of the white-collar crime prosecutor as it undergoes a shake-up in leadership.
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August 06, 2024
BoE Identifies Resolution Issues At Top UK Banks
The Bank of England urged five major U.K. banks on Tuesday to make further enhancements in how they prepare for orderly failure in a report, identifying only at Standard Chartered a shortcoming that could impede resolution.
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August 06, 2024
Pension Body Urges Sector Tech Overhaul After CrowdStrike
The pension industry must take steps to bolster its data security or else put the life savings of millions of Britons at risk, experts warned Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Eversheds Steers Sale Of Kodak Unit By Pensions Lifeboat
The U.K. Pension Protection Fund has sold a business unit of photography giant Kodak to U.S. private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management in a deal steered by Eversheds Sutherland and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
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August 06, 2024
Law Firm Sued Over Negligent Property 'Ponzi Scheme' Advice
Four investors have sued AI Law for £373,000 ($473,000) over the regional English firm's alleged failure to advise them that there is a risk their purchase of leases in apartments was an investment in a potential Ponzi scheme.
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August 06, 2024
Alternative Investor Great Point Enters Into Liquidation
Alternative investment fund manager Great Point Investments Ltd. has wound up its operations and liquidated its assets to pay off creditors after its parent company became insolvent, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Brown & Brown Buys Trade Credit Insurance Specialist
Brown & Brown (Europe) Ltd. said Tuesday that it has bought trade credit insurance broker The CI Group Holdings Ltd. to expand its services for lenders and the small and midsized businesses in the U.K.
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August 05, 2024
NCA Not Liable For Regulator's License Withdrawal Decision
A former financial investigator cannot sue the National Crime Agency for losing his license, after an employment tribunal ruled that the agency could lobby on his behalf but couldn't overturn a regulatory body's decision.
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August 05, 2024
Azeri Banker's Wife Forfeits Golf Club, Knightsbridge Home
The wife of a jailed Azeri banker has agreed to forfeit a house and golf course that the National Crime Agency says were bought with embezzled money, the agency announced on Monday.
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August 05, 2024
Glencore Ordered To Pay $152M In Swiss Bribery Case
Switzerland's federal prosecutor ordered commodities trader and miner Glencore on Monday to pay $152 million for failing to prevent bribery linked to the acquisition by a business partner of minority stakes in two mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011.
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August 05, 2024
Most Pension Plans Unclear On Members' Retirement Income
Aon PLC said Monday that almost two-thirds of defined contribution pension plans in Britain do know how much money a typical member can expect in retirement — and welcomed the intention of the new government to make remedying this a priority.
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August 12, 2024
Goodwin Adds Secondaries Partner From Dechert In London
Goodwin Procter LLP has tapped private investment funds partner Thiha Tun to work in its London office from Dechert LLP.
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August 05, 2024
FRC Tightens Accounting Guidance, Extends It To Listed Firms
Britain's accounting watchdog on Monday proposed tighter guidance for directors to assess whether a company is a "going concern" and broadened its application to the largest listed companies, after some high-profile corporate failures.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
FCA Greenwashing Rules Need To Be Stronger To Be Effective
The Financial Conduct Authority's forthcoming anti-greenwashing measures, aimed at ensuring the veracity of regulated entities’ statements about sustainability credentials, need external scrutiny and an effective definition of "corporate social responsibility" to give them bite, says Jingchen Zhao at Nottingham Trent University.
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EU Ruling Exposes Sovereignty Fissures In Int'l Arbitration
The European Court of Justice's recent ruling that the U.K. had breached EU law by allowing an arbitral award to proceed underscores the diminished influence of EU jurisprudence in the U.K., hinting at the EU courts' increasingly nominal sway in international arbitration within jurisdictions that prize legal autonomy, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.
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Companies House False Filings Raise Issues Of Integrity
A recent spate of unauthorized company filings with Companies House raises specific concerns for secured lenders, but also highlights the potential for false filings to be used to facilitate fraudulent schemes, says Daniel Sullivan at Charles Russell.
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UK Courts Continue To Struggle With Crypto-Asset Cases
Although the common law has proved capable of applying established principles to crypto-assets, recent cases highlight persistent challenges in identifying defendants, locating assets and determining jurisdiction, suggesting that any meaningful development will likely come from legislative or regulatory change, say Emily Saunderson and Sam Mitchell at Quadrant Chambers.
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Comparing The UK And EU Approaches To AI Regulation
While there are significant points of convergence between the recently published U.K. approach to artificial intelligence regulation and the EU AI Act, there is also notable divergence between them, and it appears that the U.K. will remain a less regulatory environment for AI in the foreseeable future, say lawyers at Steptoe.
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Lessons On Using 3rd-Party Disclosure Orders In Fraud Cases
The expansion of the gateway for service out of jurisdiction regarding third-party information orders has proven to be an effective tool against fraud since it was introduced in 2022, and recent case law offers practical tips on what applicants should be aware of when submitting such orders, says Rosie Wild at Cooke Young.
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A Look At The Latest EU Alternative Investment Regulation
Recent amendments to the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive governing a range of alternative investment funds reflect a growing regulatory focus on nonbanking financial institutions, which expand credit to support economic growth but carry a commensurate risk, say Juliette Mills and Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.
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Unpacking The Law Commission's Digital Assets Consultation
The Law Commission recently published a consultation on recognizing a third personal property category to accommodate the development of digital assets, highlighting difficulties with current models of property rights and the potential consequences of considering digital assets as personal property, say Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP.
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Unpacking The FCA's Approach To AML Compliance Failures
In light of the upward trend of skilled-person reviews by the Financial Conduct Authority, including the latest investigation into Lloyds' anti-money laundering controls, financial firms should familiarize themselves with the mechanisms of FCA supervision and enforcement investigations, says Kathryn Westmore at RUSI.
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New Russia Sanctions Reveal Int'l Enforcement Capabilities
Significant new U.K., U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Russia notably target Europe-based individuals and entities accused of sanctions evasion, and with an apparent political will to enhance capabilities, the rhetoric is translating into international enforcement activity, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
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What COVID Payout Ruling Means For Lockdown Loss Claims
While the High Court's recent COVID-19 payout decision in Gatwick v. Liberty Mutual, holding that pandemic-related regulations trigger prevention of access clauses, will likely lead to insurers accepting more business interruption claims, there are still evidentiary challenges and issues regarding policy limits and furlough, say Josianne El Antoury and Greg Lascelles at Covington.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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EEA Equivalence Statement Is Welcomed By Fund Managers
The recent statement confirming European Economic Area equivalence to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities for U.K. overseas funds regime purposes removes many managers’ concerns in the wake of Brexit, giving a clear pathway out of temporary marketing permissions and easing the transition from one regime to another, says Catherine Weeks at Simmons & Simmons.
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In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law
A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.
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Crypto As A Coin Of The Corporate Realm: The Pros And Cons
The broadened range of crypto-assets opens up new possibilities for employers looking to recruit, incentivize and retain employees through the use of crypto, but certain risks must be addressed, say Dan Sharman and Sunny Mangatt at Shoosmiths.