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Financial Services UK
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October 22, 2024
Bird & Bird Hires M&A Pro In Milan From A&O
Bird & Bird LLP has added an experienced M&A and private equity expert as a partner to its main office in Milan, as part of the law firm's long-term strategy to bolster its global corporate platform.
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October 22, 2024
FCA Restricts Financial Services Platform After Failings
London-based financial firm Business Agent Ltd. has been restricted from acting as an individual savings accounts manager due to major regulatory breaches, including the unauthorized handling of client funds, the Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday.
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October 22, 2024
Budget Fears Spark Surge Of Savers Raiding Pensions
A third of financial advisers have seen an uptick in customers tapping into their pensions, an investment platform company said, amid speculation the government could reduce the amount that Britons can withdraw without being taxed.
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October 22, 2024
UK To Loan Ukraine £2.3B Backed By Frozen Russian Assets
The U.K. government announced Tuesday that it will loan Ukraine approximately £2.3 billion ($3 billion) to support its military and reconstruction efforts in an arrangement backed by profits from sanctioned Russian assets.
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October 22, 2024
Kirkland Guides Wendel's $1.13B Bid For Monroe Capital Stake
French investor Wendel Group said Tuesday that it will take an initial 75% stake in U.S. asset manager Monroe Capital LLC for $1.13 billion to expand its private credit services as demand surges.
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October 21, 2024
FCA Cracking Down On Illegal 'Finfluencing'
Britain's financial watchdog is cracking down on individuals who may be promoting financial services products illegally, announcing Tuesday that it is interviewing 20 "finfluencers."
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October 21, 2024
BDO Appoints Former HMRC Official, 3 Others To UK Offices
An HM Revenue & Customs official is among four tax professionals BDO LLP has appointed to its offices in the U.K., the firm announced.
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October 21, 2024
UK Director's Use Of Tax Planning Data Subject For Retrial
Whether a director of a U.K. company is liable for a breach of confidence over the misuse of information in marketing a complex tax structure is an issue to be retried, a London court ruled.
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October 21, 2024
Campaigners To Submit Whistleblowing Protections Bill
Campaigners announced plans Monday to submit a new bill before Parliament that would establish a new government office to crack down on retaliation against whistleblowers who reveal fraud, corruption and misconduct.
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October 21, 2024
Amex To Take Over Swisscard Joint Venture From UBS
UBS Switzerland AG on Monday said American Express has agreed to take over its 50% stake in credit card provider Swisscard, getting control of the former Credit Suisse joint venture as the credit card giant looks to expand its business in Switzerland.
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October 21, 2024
Kirkland Hires 2 Structured Finance Attys In NY, London
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is continuing the build-out of its structured finance and private credit practice, announcing on Saturday the lateral hiring of two partners in New York and London.
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October 21, 2024
FCA Sustainability Labels Prompt Worries From Trade Groups
Financial advisers and wealth managers remain concerned about the low range of labels the U.K.'s financial watchdog has included in its new sustainability disclosure regime, a trade group said in research released Monday.
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October 21, 2024
Trade Body 'Extremely Concerned' Over Pension Value Rules
The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed framework for gauging pension scheme value could have "significant consequences for customer outcomes" as currently set out, an investment trade body has warned.
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October 21, 2024
Startup Funder Wants Co-Founder To Pay £7.1M In Fraud Case
A Paris-based startup funder asked a London court on Monday to order one of its co-founders to pay £7.1 million ($9.2 million) after his defense to allegations of "substantial and wide-ranging fraud" was struck out over failures to comply with court orders.
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October 21, 2024
Insurance Premium Finance Costs Fall Under FCA Scrutiny
Insurers have dropped the interest they charge customers for finance arrangements on their annual premiums over the past year amid greater regulatory scrutiny, analysts said Monday.
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October 21, 2024
Billionaire Fights PE Giant Over Software Co. Stakes
An Irish venture capitalist has accused a unit of a major private equity firm of stopping him from forcing it out of its stake in a major management software company to make him buy them out at a premium, in documents disclosed at a London court hearing.
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October 21, 2024
FCA Fines Volkswagen £5.4M For Mistreating Customers
Britain's financial watchdog fined Volkswagen nearly £5.4 million ($7 million) on Monday after it found that the German automaker's financial arm had treated thousands of vulnerable customers unfairly for more than six years.
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October 21, 2024
Norwegian Bank DNB To Buy Carnegie Holding For $1.14B
DNB Bank ASA said Monday it has inked a deal to snap up investment bank Carnegie for 12 billion Swedish kronor ($1.14 billion) in cash, advised by Swedish law firm Mannheimer Swartling.
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October 21, 2024
Chinese Duo Plead Not Guilty To Laundering Cryptocurrency
A Chinese woman and her co-defendant pleaded not guilty Monday to money laundering charges in London over an alleged criminal conspiracy to acquire and transfer cryptocurrency.
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October 18, 2024
Consultant Ducks Prison For Helping OneCoin Launder $35M
A New York federal judge declined on Friday to sentence a co-founder of business consultancy and investment firm InterAmerican Group to any time in prison for his role in a scheme to launder about $35 million in proceeds from the multibillion-dollar OneCoin cryptocurrency scam.
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October 25, 2024
Sidley Hires Capital Markets Duo From Latham
Sidley Austin LLP has recruited two capital markets partners from Latham & Watkins LLP for its London office, further boosting its finance capabilities in the city after it recently snapped up a group of five partners from its U.S.-based rival.
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October 18, 2024
Gov't Warned Over Axing National Insurance Pension Relief
Slashing the tax relief on pension contributions paid by employers could cost businesses nearly £500 ($653) per worker and reduce future retirement savings pots at a time of growing concern that Britons aren't saving enough for later life, Hymans Robertson said Friday.
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October 18, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Professor Cat Jarman, Earl Spencer's new girlfriend, sue his ex-wife, Bitcoin fraudster Craig Wright file a £911 billion ($1.18 trillion) claim against BTC Core, journalist Oliver Kamm hit novelist Ros Barber with a defamation claim, and a barrister at Cloisters face a claim from a former client. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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October 18, 2024
Lender KMBL Buys StanChart India's $490M Loan Biz
Indian lender Kotak Mahindra Bank said Friday it has inked an agreement to buy the personal loan book of Standard Chartered, India worth an estimated 4,100 crore Indian rupees ($490 million), in a move to bolster its retail credit business.
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October 18, 2024
BoE To Tighten Capital Rules For Banks
The Bank of England proposed Friday to tighten the capital requirements rules protecting banks and investment firms from large losses caused by failures of firms with which they conduct business.
Expert Analysis
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Cum-Ex Prosecutions Storm Shows No Sign Of Abating
The ongoing trial of Sanjay Shah in Denmark is a clear indicator that efforts remain focused on holding to account the alleged architects and beneficiaries of cum-ex trading, and with these prosecutions making their way across Europe, it is a more turbulent time now than ever, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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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.