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Financial Services UK
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May 31, 2024
EU Watchdog Warns Retail Investment Firms Of AI Pitfalls
The European Union's markets regulator has issued guidance for firms using artificial intelligence to give investment services to retail clients, warning of risks like biased decision-making.
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May 31, 2024
Freshfields Guides Gov't Sale Of £1.2B In NatWest Shares
HM Treasury said Friday it has sold more NatWest Group PLC shares worth £1.24 billion ($1.57 billion) back to the lender, as the U.K. government continues its planned exit from the bank it nationalized during the global financial crisis.
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May 31, 2024
Anti-Fraud Agency Sued For £144K Over Unjustified Suspicion
The operator of the U.K.'s national fraud database is being sued for £144,000 ($183,000) for allegedly marking a London resident's bank activity for suspected fraud without any justification and severely affecting his credit rating.
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May 31, 2024
BBVA To Tap Shareholders To Fund €12B Hostile Takeover
Spanish banking giant BBVA said Friday that it has called a shareholders' meeting to approve the sale of new shares in a package to finance the €12 billion ($13 billion) hostile takeover of its smaller rival, Banco de Sabadell SA.
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May 31, 2024
Nationwide's Planned £2.9B Virgin Money Deal Gets UK Probe
The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday it has opened a formal probe into Nationwide Building Society's plans to buy Virgin Money for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion), which they say would create a combined group with assets of approximately £366 billion.
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May 30, 2024
Autonomy VP Declines To Take Stand As Fraud Trial Nears End
Testimony wrapped Thursday in a California federal criminal trial over claims that former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and finance vice president Stephen Chamberlain duped HP into overpaying billions for the British tech company, as Chamberlain opted not to testify in his own defense after Lynch stepped off the witness stand.
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May 30, 2024
Russia Looks To Pause Ukrainian Bank's $1.1B Award Suit
Russia has asked a D.C. federal court to pause a case initiated by one of Ukraine's largest banks to enforce a $1.1 billion arbitral award against the Kremlin, saying it has renewed its efforts to annul the award before the French courts.
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May 30, 2024
Bulgarian Fraudsters Get 25 Years For Major Benefits Scam
Five Bulgarian individuals were sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Thursday after admitting to making £54 million ($68.7 million) in fraudulent benefits claims, the largest-ever scam of its kind.
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May 30, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Fights 10-Year Sentence In OneCoin Case
A former Locke Lord LLP partner urged the Second Circuit Wednesday to ax his 10-year prison sentence and conviction for laundering around $400 million in proceeds from the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, saying the case was contaminated by perjury and errors at the trial court level.
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May 30, 2024
Manager Claims Wealth Fund Has Shorted His Fees For Years
A wealth fund manager has sued his employer for £252,900 ($321,300) in missing management fees and bonuses, alleging at a London court that his trust in bosses meant he didn't realize they had underpaid him for several years.
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May 30, 2024
Co-Founder Says French Incubator Wants To 'Destroy' Him
A co-founder of a French incubator has urged a London court to throw out a claim brought against him by his former company over allegedly misappropriated funds, saying the aim of the "vexatious and oppressive" litigation was to "destroy" him.
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May 30, 2024
Big Tech Must Help Reimburse Fraud Victims, City Group Says
The next U.K. government should implement legislation that forces big tech and social media giants to shoulder some of the financial burden for victims of online fraud, a financial services trade group said Thursday.
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May 30, 2024
Freeze On UK Tax Thresholds Set To Expire in 2028, Hunt Says
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that the freeze on income tax thresholds will continue until 2028, despite promises by the Conservative government to reduce the overall taxation burden in the future.
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May 30, 2024
Divorcee Of Putin Ex-Son-In-Law Sues Investment Co. For £1M
The ex-wife of Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law has claimed that a venture capital firm owes her £1.1 million ($1.4 million) for allegedly failing to help her to secure her divorce proceedings and a $60 million prenuptial agreement.
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May 30, 2024
EU Adopts Rules To Make Banks Withstand Economic Shock
European Union negotiators formally adopted a raft of new rules on Thursday to make banks operating in the bloc more resilient against market downturns and economic shocks.
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May 30, 2024
EU Adopts New AML Measures, Sets Up Supervisory Agency
The Council of the European Union adopted anti-money laundering measures on Thursday in a move to close loopholes exploited by organized crime, which include setting up a dedicated agency to fight illicit financial activities across the bloc.
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May 30, 2024
Odey Sues FT For Libel After Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Crispin Odey has sued the Financial Times at a London court after the newspaper published articles that contained a string of allegations of sexual misconduct against the well-known financier.
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May 29, 2024
Autonomy Founder Pushed Sales Team Hard, Jury Hears
A federal prosecutor cross-examining ex-Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch on Wednesday in a criminal fraud trial over claims the British tech tycoon conned HP into overpaying billions for his software company sought to portray Lynch as an overbearing leader who put intense pressure on his team to generate "revenue revenue revenue."
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May 29, 2024
EU Unveils Office To Police New Artificial Intelligence Law
The European Union's executive arm on Wednesday unveiled details of its new AI Office to police compliance with the newly launched Artificial Intelligence Act across member states, including financial services.
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May 29, 2024
Goldman Sachs Raises Over $20B For Direct Lending Strategy
Goldman Sachs Alternatives, advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, revealed Wednesday that it clinched its latest senior direct lending fund after securing $13.1 billion from investors, and that together with other money raised for associated vehicles it has over $20 billion in fresh capital to put toward its direct lending strategy.
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May 29, 2024
Italian Airline's Chair Hits Back At €50M 'Revenge' Claim
The chair of Aeroitalia has urged a London court to throw out a €50 million ($54 million) claim over the Italian airline, arguing he had not agreed to transfer most of his stake in the business to a company claiming to have links with aviation magnate German Efromovich.
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May 29, 2024
HSF Guides £204M Pension Deal For Telcoms Biz Arqiva
Pension Insurance Corporation PLC said Wednesday it has completed a £204 million ($259.8 million) full buy-in of a retirement savings plan sponsored by telecommunications company Arqiva Ltd., in a deal guided by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.
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May 29, 2024
Clifford Chance Guides L&G's £20M Nortel Pension Buyout
The U.K. pension liabilities of defunct Canadian telecom company Nortel Networks Corp., worth £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion), have now been offloaded fully to Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd., the insurer said Tuesday, after a final transaction steered by Travers Smith LLP, Pinsent Masons LLP, Hogan Lovells and Clifford Chance LLP.
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May 29, 2024
FCA Warns Firms To Prepare Better For Disrupted Operations
The Financial Conduct Authority has warned businesses that some are taking the wrong approach to maintaining operation of important services during a crisis, such as after a cyberattack.
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May 29, 2024
Three EU Countries Urge Tax Reform To Boost Investment
Three smaller European Union countries, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia, are backing tax reforms in the 27-country bloc to support investment in capital markets, including exemptions from capital gains tax for long-term retail investment products, according to a joint declaration.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy
The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.
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German Competition Law May Herald New Enforcement Trend
The recent amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition is expected to significantly expand the powers of the German Federal Cartel Office, and could signal a global trend toward greater direct intervention by national competition authorities and political interference in competition law, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
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New Financial Services Act Leaves Few Firms Untouched
The recently published Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which replaces retained EU law with U.K. legislation, is one of the most significant pieces of post-Brexit regulation, with key practical implications for actors such as investment firms and crypto-asset and payment service providers, say Tim Cant, Emma Tran and Bisola Williams at Ashurst.
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FCA 'De-Banking' Clampdown May Need Gov't Backing
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent clampdown on unfair bank account closures will give customers greater transparency, but with terms usually skewed in the bank’s favor, it is a policy matter for the government to enact further protections for businesses and consumers, say Stephen Rosen and Jean-Martin Louw at Collyer Bristow.
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UK Securitization Reform Opts For Modest Approach, For Now
Recently published consultation papers from the U.K. Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct Authorities on new securitization rules mainly restate retained EU law, but there are some targeted adjustments being proposed and further divergence is to be expected, say Alix Prentice and Assia Damianova at Cadwalader.
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Examining PayPal's Venture Into The Stablecoin Market
PayPal’s recent release of a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar may represent a groundbreaking innovation or could fail as others have before it, and policymakers in the U.K. and the EU will be watching the impact of this new crypto token with a keen eye, say Ben Lee and Dion Seymour at Andersen.
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High Court Dechert Ruling Offers Litigation Privilege Lessons
While the recent High Court ruling in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, which concerned torture conspiracy allegations against the firm, held that litigation privilege can be claimed by a nonparty to proceedings, the exact boundaries of privilege aren't always clear-cut and may necessitate analyzing the underlying principles, says Scott Speirs at Norton Rose.
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FCA Consumer Duty May Pose Enforcement Challenges
The new U.K. Financial Conduct Authority consumer duty sets higher standards of customer protection and transparency for financial services firms, but given the myriad products available across the sector, policing the regulations is going to be a challenging task, says Alessio Ianiello at Keller Postman.
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UK Insolvency Reform Review Shows Measures Are Working
The U.K. Insolvency Service's recently published review of legislative reforms to the corporate insolvency regime demonstrates that despite being underutilized, the measures have been shown to help viable companies survive, and with the current difficult economic environment, will likely be an important aspect of organizational restructuring going forward, says Kirsten Fulton-Fleming at Taylor Wessing.
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More UK Collective Actions On The Horizon After Forex Ruling
A U.K. appeals court's recent decision in Forex case Evans v. Barclays is likely to significantly widen the scope of opt-out collective proceedings that can be brought, paving the way for more class actions by prospective claimants who have previously been unable to bring individual claims, say Robin Henry and Tamara Davis at Collyer Bristow.
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FCA Listing Reform Proposals Aim To Modernize UK Markets
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals to reform listing rules will enhance equities while retaining protections and high governance standards, and will also make the capital markets work more efficiently and competitively with other global markets, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
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Takeaways From ICO's Action In NatWest Privacy Dispute
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office's latest intervention in the Nigel Farage NatWest Bank dispute highlights the importance of the legal responsibilities of all data processors in possession of sensitive information, and is a reminder that upholding bank customers' privacy rights is paramount, says James Kelliher at Keller Postman.
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How The OECD Global Tax Proposal Could Affect M&A
Following agreement on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Pillar Two proposal to introduce a global minimum tax, domestic implementation is expected to have a significant impact on international M&A transactions, with financial modeling, deal structuring, risk allocation and joint venture arrangements likely to be affected, say lawyers at Freshfields.
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How Russia Sanctions May Complicate Contract Obligations
Against the backdrop of recent comprehensive sanctions against Russia and Belarus, a review of recent U.K. case law clarifies that certain force majeure clauses likely cover trade sanctions, and that future litigation will further develop the scope of force majeure and frustration in the context of sanctions, says Frances Jenkins at Quillon Law.
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New Guidance Offers Clarity For Charities On ESG Investing
The need for charities to understand investing in line with environmental, social and governance aspirations has never been more pressing, and recently updated U.K. Charity Commission guidance should give trustees confidence to make decisions that are right for their organization, says Robert Nieri at Shoosmiths.