Financial Services UK

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Experts See Risks In FCA's Soft-Touch Response To AI

The Financial Conduct Authority has so far failed to detail its rules on artificial intelligence and is moving toward a reliance on companies to self-report, putting it at risk of deferring excessively to the sector it regulates, legal experts say.
November 22, 2024
Tavistock Investments To Buy Asset Manager For Up To £18M

Financial services group Tavistock said Friday that it has agreed to buy asset manager Alpha Beta Partners for up to £18 million ($22.5 million) as the British company seeks to expand in the U.K. retail investment market.
November 21, 2024
Dashboard Project Updates Pension Scheme Reporting Rules

Pension providers and schemes will face less onerous reporting requirements during the initial connection phase to the long-awaited dashboards project under changes announced by the program's coordinator Thursday.
November 21, 2024
UAE Bank Loses Suit Accusing Family Of Evading £19M Debt

A UAE bank has lost its claim against a businessman's family over an alleged £19 million ($24 million) debt, after a London judge ruled Thursday that the lender failed to prove that the businessman had intentionally moved assets to keep them out of the hands of his creditors.
November 21, 2024
EU Watchdogs Set Rules On Sharing Staff Fitness Reports

European Union regulators have set out guidelines for their new information exchange system to help national regulators assess the suitability of senior managers for key roles in financial services.
November 21, 2024
FCA Weighing Wider Impact Of Motor Finance Ruling

The Financial Conduct Authority said it is considering issuing guidance amid growing legal uncertainty over commission arrangements following a bombshell court ruling on motor finance.
November 21, 2024
UK Sanctions Angola's Dos Santos, Others For Looting Nations

The British government hit three kleptocrats, including Africa's richest women, and their associates with sanctions and travel bans on Thursday, saying that they siphoned millions of pounds from their countries and concealed their illegal assets in the U.K.
November 21, 2024
Freshfields Helps PE Firm Cinven Invest In Grant Thornton UK

Private equity firm Cinven said Thursday that it plans to buy a majority stake in "big six" accountant Grant Thornton UK in a move to capitalize on the resilient professional services and advisory sector.
November 20, 2024
White & Case, Goodwin Tap A&O Shearman For Pros

White & Case announced Wednesday it has recruited a senior corporate partner from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling in London, while Goodwin Procter said it has hired an investment funds specialist from the Magic Circle firm as a partner in its Luxembourg office.
November 20, 2024
Teacher Stern Breached Regs With Payments, SRA Alleges

The English solicitors regulator accused commercial firm Teacher Stern LLP and two partners of effectively providing banking services to two clients by allowing them to transfer money that was not related to an underlying legal transaction or service.
November 20, 2024
Deutsche Bank, Dexia Win Swap Rate Dispute With Brescia

A London court on Wednesday ruled that deals an Italian province penned with Deutsche Bank and Dexia aimed at restructuring the region's debts were valid and that it cannot undo settlement agreements inked in the legal fallout around the transactions.
November 20, 2024
Marsh Says Greensill Bank Can't Add It To Australian Dispute

Marsh urged a court Wednesday to maintain an order banning Greensill Bank AG from dragging it into litigation in Australia linked to the collapse of the wider group, arguing that the lender is bound by an English jurisdiction clause in its contract with the insurance broker.
November 20, 2024
All Eyes On The SFO After LC&F Ponzi Scheme Ruling

Damning findings in civil litigation that the directors of London Capital & Finance ran the bonds company as a Ponzi scheme could foreshadow the Serious Fraud Office's parallel criminal investigation into the failed £237 million ($300 million) investment business, lawyers say.
November 20, 2024
European Council Greenlights ESG Rating Regime

The European Union has adopted new rules to regulate environmental, social and governance rating activities to make them more transparent, consistent and comparable in a move to improve investors' trust in sustainable financial products.
November 20, 2024
Aviva Unveils Islamic-Compliant Workplace Pensions Strategy

Insurance giant Aviva has launched a tailored solution for members of workplace pensions who want investment options that are compliant with Islamic law, introducing a range of funds and universal de-risking options.
November 20, 2024
Top UK Court Rejects Bedzhamov Russian Bankruptcy Order

The U.K. Supreme Court refused Wednesday to recognize a Russian bankruptcy order against two properties owned by banker Georgy Ivanovich Bedzhamov in Britain, confirming a legal principle that foreign courts do not have jurisdiction over English land.
November 19, 2024
Cuban Bank Can't Block Fund's €72M Debt Claim

Cuba's former central bank can't block an offshore fund from suing it for over €72 million ($76.2 million) of unpaid sovereign debt because the lender authorized the assignment of the debt to the fund, a London appeals court ruled Tuesday.
November 19, 2024
Russian Pipeline Giant Fights Oligarch's Conspiracy Claim

Lawyers for Russian pipeline giant PJSC Transneft urged a London court Tuesday to toss out a claim by a jailed oligarch accusing it of foul play in a sale of shares, saying the deal was above board and approved by shareholders.
November 19, 2024
FCA Charges 4 Men With Fraud Over Collapse Of Credit Union

The Financial Conduct Authority has charged four men with fraud over the collapse of a credit union for cab drivers that required a £21 million ($26.6 million) payout to more than a thousand customers from a government bailout scheme six years ago.
November 19, 2024
BNP Paribas Not Liable For Halted Skyscraper Asbestos Work

BNP Paribas is not on the hook for a broken deal with a contractor that claimed the company prevented it from carrying out necessary work after asbestos was found in a Manchester skyscraper, a London court has ruled.
November 19, 2024
BoE To Set Basic Rules For Market Infrastructures

The Bank of England proposed Tuesday to introduce fundamental rules for financial market infrastructures involved in securities settlement and funds transfer in a first use of new powers, aiming to ensure the U.K. financial system operates safely.
November 19, 2024
Trader Can't Get Sentence Cut For £1.2M Boiler Room Fraud

A man imprisoned over a plot to trick his victims out of £1.2 million ($1.5 million) failed to get his sentence cut as a court ruled Tuesday that a judge had earlier correctly assessed his culpability in the boiler room fraud.
November 19, 2024
Redress Scheme Reports 18% Jump In Decisions On Claims

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme reported on Tuesday an 18% year-on-year increase in decisions on claims filed by customers of failed financial companies during the first six months of the fiscal year that ends in March 2025.
November 19, 2024
Fund Managers Call For Automated Process To Boost Listings

The Investment Association urged fund managers and brokers on Tuesday to join forces to automate the processes for introducing companies to listing on the stock market, which could make it easier to raise capital and increase the appeal of U.K. markets.
November 19, 2024
FCA Updates Insider-Trading Detection Measure

The financial watchdog said Tuesday that it has changed the way it calculates its market cleanliness statistic, a tool that detects insider trading by tracking unusual stock price movements before takeover announcements.
November 19, 2024
Swiss Life Completes $100M Deal For Green Hydrogen Biz

The asset management arm of insurer Swiss Life said Tuesday that it has completed its $100 million purchase of Denmark's Everfuel AS, which will lead it to take the green hydrogen producer off of the Euronext Growth market.

Editor's Picks

UK Draft Pay Fraud Rules Open Tricky Legal Liabilities

The government's new draft legislation, which will give banks longer to investigate suspicions of fraud before they send payments instructed by customers, will create a wave of new legal liabilities and lead to regulatory hurdles, according to lawyers.
FCA Fires Warning Shot Over City's Consumer Duty Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority has sent out a fresh warning to financial services companies highlighting how some of them are failing to comply with its Consumer Duty regime. But experts have told Law360 that the expectations are unclear.
5 Questions for Osborne Clarke Partner Nick Price

The Payment Systems Regulator is due to start forcing payment firms to reimburse victims of scams who have been tricked by a fraudster into transferring them money. Here, Law360 talks to Osborne Clarke partner Nick Price about how this new regime could mean uncertainty about compliance.

Expert Analysis

When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records

Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
What UK Security Act Report Indicates For Future Gov't Policy

Following the recent publication of the National Security and Investment Act report on the scrutiny of proposed investments, it will be interesting to see how the act’s powers fit into a government policy that plans to cut regulatory obstacles, while maintaining a hard line on national security, say lawyers at Katten Muchin.
Examining UK And EU Approaches To Sanctions Enforcement

In light of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent £28.9 million fine of Starling Bank for its lax sanctions screening processes, businesses should understand both the U.K.’s and the European Union’s enforcement approaches, the larger sanctions landscape and the importance of cooperation, says Angelika Hellweger at Rahman Ravelli.
Factors Driving EU Competition Policy For The Next 5 Years

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez’s recent nomination as the new European Union commissioner for competition prompts questions about policy and enforcement, with goals to enhance competition in business, implement stronger and faster enforcement, and promote and fund decarbonization likely in her sights during a five-year term, say lawyers at Linklaters.
What UK Procurement Act Delay Will Mean For Stakeholders

The Procurement Act 2023’s delay until February 2025 has sparked debate among contracting authorities and suppliers, and the Labour Party’s preference for a broader reform package demonstrates the challenges involved in implementing legislative changes where there is a change in government, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
How Energy Scheme Is Affecting Large Co. Fund Investment

The latest phase of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme implicates funds with investments in large companies by establishing significant and complex changes to the reporting cycle for mandatory assessments, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
How Companies House Enforcement Powers Are Growing

Companies House's recently increased ability to assess what material is submitted to the U.K. register of companies, and to proportionately enforce where violations have occurred, may require some degree of cultural shift within many companies, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
How New Sanctions Office Will Affect UK Trade Landscape

The recent launch of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will help to create a more comprehensive civil enforcement terrain, but the potential for multiple investigations means businesses should reassess their systems to ensure they do not inadvertently incur civil liability, says Julia Pearce at Robertson Pugh.
FCA Savings Update Focuses On Good Customer Outcomes

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent cash savings update emphasizes its expectations of firms to deliver fair value to consumers by documenting the rationale for actions at each stage, considering customer communications and demonstrating that potential harms are acted upon, say Matt Handfield, Charlotte Rendle and Caroline Hunter-Yeats at Simmons & Simmons.
5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment in UniCredit Bank v. RusChemAlliance, upholding an injunction against a lawsuit that attempted to shift arbitration away from a contractually designated venue, provides helpful guidance on when such injunctions may be available, say attorneys at Fladgate.
FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed changes to payments firms’ safeguarding requirements, with enhanced recordkeeping and fund segregation, seek to bolster existing regulatory provisions, but by introducing a statutory trust concept to cover customers’ assets, represent a set of onerous rules, says Matt Hancock at Greenberg Traurig.
Takeaways From Upcoming Payment Fraud Delay Legislation

Lawyers at Hogan Lovells discuss what to know about new legislation that will allow payment service providers to delay payments when third-party fraud is suspected, and share pointers for providers to consider ahead of the Oct. 30 effective date.
Modernizing UK Trade Settlement Standard: The Road Ahead

Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP consider the rationale and challenges of a potential U.K. trade settlement acceleration, part of an initiative to modernize the financial market infrastructure, and suggest that incorporating distributed ledger technology as a synchronized recording system would facilitate the move.
Analyzing The Implications Of 1st FCA Crypto ATM Crackdown

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent criminal prosecution of Olumide Osunkoya, its first enforcement action against a crypto-asset trading firm's owner, is an unambiguous sign of the regulator’s commitment to actively pursue transgressors, but may be a hindrance to the U.K. crypto industry, says Asim Arshad at Lawrence Stephens.
Draft Merger Control Guidance Allows CMA To Cast Wide Net

The Competition and Markets Authority's recent draft merger control guidance, reflecting the regulator's strengthened powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act, introduces extensive change and potential procedural improvements, specifically concerning reviews of private equity firms, say lawyers at Travers Smith.