Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Financial Services UK
-
May 29, 2024
Pensions Provider Sells Biz Before Entering Administration
A provider of self-invested personal pensions has sold its retirement savings business before it entered administration when its directors expressed concerns over its financial liabilities caused by some of the investments it had allowed.
-
May 28, 2024
Autonomy Founder Says HP 'Panicked,' Tried To Unwind Deal
Autonomy founder Michael Lynch testified Tuesday in a California federal criminal trial over claims he conned HP into overpaying for his company that HP's board "panicked" after news of the acquisition leaked and HP's stock dropped 20%, that HP fired its CEO and that it attempted to back out of the deal.
-
May 28, 2024
RBS, Lloyds Bank, Others Ink $1.9M Libor Settlement
A group of plaintiffs in the yearslong suit alleging several big banks manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, have reached a $1.9 million settlement with the Royal Banks of Scotland, Lloyds Bank and others, bringing the total settlement recovery amount to more than $780 million.
-
May 28, 2024
Property Firm Fined £12K For Anti-Money Laundering Failures
The Solicitors Regulation Authority fined a London property solicitors £12,777 ($16,300) after the firm carried out transactions for partners and their family members without appropriate anti-money laundering policies.
-
May 28, 2024
Labour Party Rules Out Any Additional Tax Rises
The Labour Party on Tuesday ruled out introducing any more tax rises in addition to measures it has already announced in the event it wins the July 4 general election.
-
May 28, 2024
Aviva Completes £130M Pension Deal With Telereal
A property investment company has offloaded £130 million ($166 million) of its pension liabilities to Aviva PLC, the insurer said Tuesday.
-
May 28, 2024
EU Investment Firms Told To Upgrade Marketing Reports
The European Union's financial markets regulator has said that investment firms should improve their marketing disclosures to investors, calling on national watchdogs to act against rule-breakers.
-
May 28, 2024
Pension Deals Market Working For Small Providers, Aon Says
The deal market for small pension schemes looking to offload their liabilities to insurers is working despite fears that such plans are being crowded out of the market, Aon said Tuesday.
-
May 28, 2024
Israeli Aquaculture Firm Sued Over $21M Unpaid Settlement
An asset management firm based in the Cayman Islands is seeking more than $21 million from an Israeli aquaculture company over an allegedly unpaid settlement agreement intended to resolve earlier arbitration proceedings.
-
May 28, 2024
NatWest Unaware Of Former Trader's Asperger's Diagnosis
A former NatWest trader has lost his bid to revive his disability discrimination claim against the high street lender's investment banking arm as an appeals tribunal upheld findings that it did not know about his Asperger's syndrome diagnosis when he unsuccessfully applied to rejoin the company.
-
May 28, 2024
White & Case Guides ABN Amro On €672M German Bank Buy
Dutch lender ABN Amro said Tuesday that it plans to a buy German private bank for €672 million ($730 million) in a move to become one of the largest providers of banking services to wealthy clients in Germany.
-
May 24, 2024
The UK Laws That Will Pass Or Fail As Election Looms
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to call an early general election to be held on July 4 has left several pieces of legislation hanging in the balance during the so-called "wash-up" period before Parliament is formally dissolved, while others have been pushed through.
-
May 24, 2024
Labour Gov't Could Force Big Tech Into Fraud Repayments
A potential new Labour government means a turning point in tackling financial fraud if it should force big tech companies like Meta and Google to join banks in having to reimburse customers duped into sending fraudsters money, according to lawyers.
-
May 24, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen an IT engineer seek permission to search a landfill hiding a hard drive supposedly storing millions of pounds in bitcoin, Glencore take on legal action by American Century Investments, gold payment app Glint bring a breach of duty claim against FRP Advisory, and an ongoing dispute between a solicitor and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
May 24, 2024
Banking 'Selfie' Fraudster Gets 3 Years In Prison
A fraudster was handed a three-year prison sentence for making fake applications to obtain loans and pensions potentially losing banks around £178,000 ($227,000), the Crown Prosecution Service announced Friday.
-
May 24, 2024
FCA Bans Two Advisers Accused Of Misleading Clients
The Financial Conduct Authority has banned two advisers from working in financial services for "recklessly" exposing pension holders to high-risk investments, the regulator said Friday.
-
May 24, 2024
Woman Imprisoned For Laundering From $5B Bitcoin Fraud
A British-Chinese woman was imprisoned for more than six years on Friday at a London court for laundering bitcoin converted from an alleged £5 billion ($6.3 billion) investment fraud.
-
May 24, 2024
Addleshaw Guides Coventry's £780M Co-op Bank Deal
Coventry Building Society has formalized plans to buy the Co-operative Bank for £780 million ($990 million), the lenders said in a joint statement Friday, a move they claim will create an institution better equipped to challenge larger high street names.
-
May 23, 2024
NY Top Court Revives FanDuel Investors Suit
New York's top appeals court on Thursday revived a suit brought by FanDuel investors who claim they were deprived of profits from a merger, disagreeing with a lower court's interpretation of Scottish law.
-
May 23, 2024
White & Case Adds Former A&O Tax Pro In Luxembourg
White & Case LLP announced it has added a tax partner to its Luxembourg office from A&O Shearman who specializes in international and Luxembourg corporate tax law.
-
May 23, 2024
Marketer Denies Owing Investors For Flawed Property Scheme
An investment marketer has denied owing care home investors £2.3 million ($2.9 million) after they sank money into a flawed property scheme, claiming it never said the investments were safe.
-
May 23, 2024
FSB Spots Weaknesses In Short-Term Funding Markets
The Financial Stability Board said vulnerabilities used in short-term markets for financing companies need to be addressed because of the risk to the wider financial system in times of crisis such as COVID-19.
-
May 23, 2024
Investec Sets Aside £30M For FCA Motor Finance Review
Investec PLC has put aside £30 million ($38 million) as the banking group faces the Financial Conduct Authority's industry-wide motor finance review, according to the company's report for financial year 2024 published Thursday.
-
May 23, 2024
Trader Denies Using 'Magic Money Tree' At £1.4B Fraud Trial
Sanjay Shah, a former hedge fund owner who is accused of defrauding Denmark's tax authority out of £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion), denied using a "magic money tree" in his trading at a London court Thursday.
-
May 23, 2024
Pension Plans Must Get Handle On Data Quality, TPR Says
Retirement savings plans in the U.K. face increased regulatory scrutiny to ensure that Britain has the best possible standards on safeguarding the personal data of clients, the pensions watchdog has said.
Expert Analysis
-
US And EU Poised For Closer Ties In Tech Financial Market
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European Commission are both concerned about the challenges posed by the increasing digitalization of financial products, such as the use of AI and new forms of credit, and by working together, the two regulators can share information and best practices, says Yulia Makarova at Cooley.
-
FCA Case Failures Highlight Value Of Robust Investigation
The recent U.K. upper tribunal judgment in Seiler, Whitestone and Raitzin v. The Financial Conduct Authority, criticizing the regulator for accepting a narrative advanced by the firm, makes clear that such admissions must not get in the way of a proper investigation to enable agencies to target the correct individuals, say Tom Bushnell and Olivia Dwan at Hickman & Rose.
-
UK Shares-Tax Proposals Offer Long-Awaited Modernization
The U.K. government's recent consultation on the introduction of a new tax on transactions in securities raises detailed legal and practical issues, but the prospect of a single digital stamp tax offering both streamlined legislation and administration will be welcomed, say Zoë Arnautov and Mark Sheiham at Simmons & Simmons.
-
Directors Should Beware Reinvigorated UK Insolvency Service
The recent lengthy disqualification of Carillion directors serves as a salutary lesson to executives on the level of third-party scrutiny to which their actions may be exposed, and a reminder that the directors’ fiduciary duty to creditors is paramount once a company is irretrievably insolvent, says Ben Drew at Fladgate.
-
The New Accountability Landscape For Financial Regulators
The preliminary-stage success of a group of U.K. lawmakers in a case against the Financial Conduct Authority highlights the significant hurdles for review of regulatory actions, but the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 creates additional visibility into the regulators' decision making, which may lead to an increase in judicial review activity, say attorneys at Cleary.
-
Director Responsibilities Amid Russian Asset Seizures
Following Russia's recent takeover of several companies, shareholders may argue that directors failed to properly guard the companies' assets and choose to bring derivative claims or unfair prejudice petitions, say lawyers at Collyer Bristow.
-
Investors Should Prepare For Possible EU Energy Treaty Exit
Following the European Commission’s recent call for the European Union and Euratom to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, investors in the energy sector should assess the legal structure of their existing investments and consider restructuring to ensure adequate protections, says Philipp Kurek at Kirkland.
-
EU Raw Materials Initiative Vital For Sustainable Value Chains
The European Commission’s recent steps toward developing partnerships with the U.S. and Argentina to ensure a secure supply of critical raw materials are a welcome recognition of the importance of mining to the European Union's sustainable transition, say lawyers at Watson Farley.
-
UK Top Court Ruling Spells Uncertainty For Litigation Funders
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Paccar Inc. v. Competition Appeal Tribunal has called litigation funding agreements impermissible, causing astonishment in the legal industry and raising questions over how funders should now approach litigation, say Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management and Imran Benson at Hailsham Chambers.
-
Gender Diverse Boards May Reduce Corporate Fraud Risk
Following the recently proposed "failure to prevent fraud" offense, companies should focus on diversity in leadership as research shows that an increase in women's representation on boards is associated with a decreased probability of fraud, say Anoushka Warlow and Suzanne Gallagher at BCL Solicitors.
-
Trustees Should Take Caution After UK Pension Tap Plan
The U.K. government's recent plan to boost technology startups by tapping into pension sector funds may risk the hard-earned savings of members, so trustees need to be mindful of the proposals in light of their fiduciary duties, say Beth Brown and Riccardo Bruno at Arc Pensions.
-
Factors Driving Increased Litigation Against European Cos.
European government regulation and enforcement, economic inflation and litigation funding are driving an increase in litigation, especially class actions, against corporations in Europe, a trend that seems to be here to stay, says Henning Schaloske at Clyde & Co.
-
New UK Offense Will Help Law Firms Tighten AML Compliance
By allowing for larger fines and introducing a failure to prevent fraud offense, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will further motivate law firms to improve their anti-money laundering compliance process, says Richard Simms at AMLCC.
-
What Venezuelan Gold Fight Means For UK One Voice Doctrine
The Court of Appeal's judgment in Deutsche Bank v. Central Bank of Venezuela clarifies the application of the "one voice" doctrine to foreign court judgments, highlighting that the reasoning depends on the recognition or nonrecognition of a head of state or government that is contrary to the U.K. government's position, say lawyers at Latham.
-
Report On UK Investment Act Offers Welcome Insights
The U.K. government's recent report on the National Security and Investment Act's first full year of operation is to be applauded for disclosing more information on the act's notification system than was required, enabling a better understanding of what has taken place and what the next year may hold, say Andrea Hamilton and Ajal Notowicz at Milbank.