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Financial Services UK
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April 30, 2025
UBS To Buy Back Further $2.5B Worth Of Shares In 2025
UBS Group AG said on Wednesday it will reward investors by repurchasing up to $2.5 billion in shares this year, despite a drop in net profit and an "unpredictable" economy.
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April 30, 2025
9M Britons Retire With Meager Private Pensions, Report Says
Almost 9 million people in the U.K. enter retirement "significantly under-pensioned," with annual private pension incomes of between £3,650 ($4,870) to £6,750, according to a report by the Pensions Policy Institute.
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May 07, 2025
White & Case Hires Back PE Pro From Kirkland In London
White & Case LLP announced Wednesday the return of a corporate partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP to boost its cross-border private equity offering to deal with the increase in transactions it expects to continue through the year.
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April 30, 2025
FCA Says Meta Slacking In The Removal Of Suspect Ads
The Financial Conduct Authority named Facebook owner Meta on Wednesday as the biggest laggard among the big tech companies in terms of responding to requests to take down material from "finfluencers" about whom the watchdog had issued warnings.
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April 30, 2025
Justices To Decide Asset Split In Banker's £112M Divorce Case
The former wife of a UBS banker told the U.K. Supreme Court on Wednesday that she should get an equal split of their £112 million ($149 million) family wealth in a case that could confirm whether assets generated outside marriage can ever be shared.
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April 30, 2025
HMRC Should Use AI To Boost Services, Report Says
HM Revenue & Customs is still not doing enough to improve its services and should prepare to use artificial intelligence to enhance customer service for U.K. taxpayers and increase its productivity, according to a parliamentary report.
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April 30, 2025
UK Finance Sector Calls For Cuts To Audit Regulation
A group of finance and corporate trade bodies urged the government on Wednesday to reduce and simplify regulation of auditors to support U.K. growth.
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April 30, 2025
Lender Says Company Owner Gifted Biz To Son To Evade Debt
A finance provider has sued a businessman for allegedly gifting a company to his son the day after the lender had demanded payment of more than £4.7 million ($6.3 million) under a loan guarantee.
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April 30, 2025
Gov't To Push Through Collective Pension Rules In Autumn
The U.K. government said it plans to introduce new regulation in the latter half of the year to allow the introduction of new forms of collective pension plans.
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April 29, 2025
FCA Proposes Live AI Testing Service For Firms
The City watchdog proposed on Tuesday a testing service for companies as they check the readiness of their new artificial intelligence tools, a program it believes can help it to better understand the impact of the technology on markets.
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April 29, 2025
Gov't Cracks Down On Crime With UK Cryptocurrency Rules
HM Treasury unveiled new regulations for crypto-exchanges on Tuesday, which it said would protect the growing number of adults who are investing in risky assets, while encouraging innovation in the sector.
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April 29, 2025
Burness Paull Guides £7.5M Pension Deal For Fuel Biz
Aviva PLC has bought out £7.5 million ($10 million) of the pension arrangement liabilities of Gleaner Ltd., advisers said Tuesday, in a deal steered by law firm Burness Paull LLP.
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April 29, 2025
Pensions Watchdog Issues Covenant Warning Amid Tariffs
The U.K.'s retirement savings watchdog warned pension schemes on Tuesday to be mindful of the impact of global trade tariffs as it said it had found that more than half have a funding surplus.
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April 29, 2025
Ex-Russells Partner Denies Role In Alleged Share Sale Plot
Russells Solicitors and a former partner have denied being part of an alleged plot to hide plans for a $40 million takeover of a celebrity intellectual property licensing company to get a former director to sell his shares cheaply.
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April 29, 2025
HSBC Banks On $3B Buyback After Strong Figures
HSBC Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it will buy back $3 billion of its shares after the British banking giant reported strong results for the first quarter 2025.
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April 29, 2025
UK Treasury Appoints 4 New FCA Board Members
HM Treasury said Tuesday it has appointed four new members to the board of the Financial Conduct Authority.
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April 29, 2025
FCA Set To Get Enforcement Boost From New Fraud Offense
The new "failure to prevent" fraud offense that comes into force in September will indirectly boost the Financial Conduct Authority's opportunities for enforcement against corporate senior managers, countering its recent retreat from plans to "name and shame" companies it is investigating, lawyers say.
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April 29, 2025
EU Prosecutors Accuse Audit Body Of Blocking Fraud Probe
European Union prosecutors have sued the European Court of Auditors for blocking a request for several of the court's members of staff to testify in a criminal investigation launched in the wake of allegations of fraud at the top of the audit institution.
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April 28, 2025
Watchdog Warns Of Significant Errors In Digital Reporting
The accounting watchdog warned Monday that some companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are making significant errors in their digital annual reports through incorrect tagging.
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April 28, 2025
Gov't Urged To Act On Critical Pension Switching Delays
The government must step in to mandate faster retirement saving transfers, a pensions provider warned Monday, saying that in some cases customers have been left waiting three years for the process to complete.
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April 28, 2025
Court Compels Disclosure In £500K Phone Crypto-Theft Case
The victim of a phone-snatching in London has secured a court order compelling four companies offering digital asset exchange services to disclose documents tied to an alleged fraud perpetrated against them after £500,000 ($667,000) in cryptocurrency was drained from his account.
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April 28, 2025
Investment Services Biz Denies Swiss Bank Deal Breach
Investment services company Otala.Markets has hit back at a €1.5 million ($1.7 million) claim brought by Swiss bank Credinvest, telling the High Court that it did not breach its contract with the lender when it accidentally tried to terminate the deal.
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April 28, 2025
Lender Sues Auditor For £1.8M Over Faulty Car Reports
A provider of business finance has alleged that an auditor inaccurately recorded the assets of a London car dealership, leading the lender to lose more than £1.8 million ($2.4 million) that it handed over to the motor sales company based on the faulty assessment.
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April 28, 2025
Compensation Program Declares Pensions Adviser In Default
A pensions adviser has been declared in default after receiving five claims against it, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme confirmed Monday.
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April 28, 2025
Italy's Mediobanca Offers €6.3B For Rival Banca Generali
Italian investment bank Mediobanca SpA said Monday that it plans to buy a domestic rival, Banca Generali SpA, for €6.3 billion ($7.1 billion), heating up consolidation in the country's banking sector.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.