Financial Services UK

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UK Growth Push Puts FCA Enforcement On Unfamiliar Footing

The government's demand that regulators should prioritize growth is "largely incompatible" with their duty to deter misconduct, say lawyers who are warning clients not to interpret the political messaging as a green light to engage in risky behavior.

American and Russian flags fly together in a breeze.

From Russia With Love? UK Lawyers Mull Sanctions U-Turn

Finance companies are enlisting white-collar lawyers to draw up plans for tapping back into Russia if the U.S. breaks with its Western allies and eases sanctions, although experts warn that unpredictable political winds mean there are as many risks as opportunities.

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UK Mortgage 'Coercion' Ruling Raises Bank Liability Risk

A decision by the U.K. Supreme Court on Wednesday could substantially increase the liability on mortgage lenders to undertake checks on their customers, raising implications for repossessions in a move that is likely to require new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority, according to lawyers.

Bigger Isn't Better In £25B Pensions Megafund Reform

The U.K. government unveiled on Thursday a sweeping reform program to drive the creation of new pension megafunds with the firepower to invest more in the U.K. economy — but experts warn this could stifle competition and "put a gun" to providers' heads.

June 12, 2025
Everbright Exec Testifies He Trusted Media Biz's Financial Info

An executive of the Chinese financial services firm Everbright testified Thursday that a sports media rights business was portrayed as "well performing" before a joint venture acquired a majority stake, only to later discover its financial health was allegedly inflated.
June 12, 2025
Customs Missteps Don't Void VAT Exemption, ECJ Says

A horse owner can still claim a value-added tax exemption if she was merely negligent, rather than deceitful, in failing to declare her horses with Swedish customs officials, the European Court of Justice held Thursday.
June 12, 2025
KPMG Fined £690K In Audit Independence Probe

The accounting watchdog said Thursday it that has fined KPMG £690,625 ($940,000) and its audit engagement partner Nick Plumb £38,000 for breaching independence requirements as auditor of Carr's Group PLC.
June 12, 2025
SFO Aligns With Gov't Growth Plans In Pitch To UK PLC

Britain's top white-collar prosecutor unveiled on Thursday new details about plans to share data and offer training to companies to prevent economic crime, in a shift to "assist growth" in line with government plans to kindle the sluggish economy.
June 12, 2025
Broadstone Buys ExactVAL To Boost Pension Transactions

Retirement consultancy Broadstone said Thursday it has bought actuarial service provider ExactVAL to support insurers in carrying out pension transactions.
June 12, 2025
Reed Smith Appoints New Head Of Its Frankfurt Office

Reed Smith LLP said Thursday that it has appointed debt finance specialist Oliver Hahnelt as the managing partner of its office in Frankfurt following the departure of its previous incumbent.
June 12, 2025
Gowling Steers Pension Insurer's £150M Buy-in For Reach

Just Group, a pensions insurer, revealed on Thursday it has taken on retirement plan liabilities worth £150 million ($204 million) from a program sponsored by publishing giant Reach.
June 12, 2025
Baker McKenzie Guides Credit Agricole's €345M Care Biz Deal

The healthcare subsidiary of French banking giant Crédit Agricole SA said Thursday that it will buy Petits-fils, an at-home services provider for the elderly in France, for €345 million ($400 million) from French care provider Clariane SE.
June 12, 2025
5 Questions For Howard Kennedy Partner Rebecca Hume

The U.K government is putting crypto-assets at the heart of its growth agenda, relying on the Financial Conduct Authority to shore up regulation of the sector.
June 11, 2025
Coinbase Loses 'Bad Faith' TM Clash With Rival At EU Court

A European Union court tossed Coinbase's latest attempt to void a Japanese crypto exchange's "coinbase" trademark on Wednesday, ruling there was no proof the company acted in bad faith by registering the mark.
June 11, 2025
EuroChem Fights Banks Over €212M Bonds In Sanctions Row

A Russian subsidiary of fertilizer producer EuroChem accused two European banks of using the pretext of sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine to "never" pay out on €212 million ($244 million) in bonds, on the first day of a High Court trial Wednesday.
June 11, 2025
37% Of Romania Cos. Fall Short On EU Reporting Standard

Almost 40% of businesses filing public country-by-country reports in Romania are failing to fully comply with the European Union's reporting standard, according to a report by a nonprofit organization.
June 11, 2025
UBS Sues Chelsea Group For $20.6M Over Greensill Deal

UBS' asset management unit has brought a $20.6 million claim in an English court against three companies in a Cyprus-based group alleging unpaid debt resulting from a supply chain finance deal with the now-defunct Greensill Capital.
June 11, 2025
Accountant Gets Maternity Bias Payout Boosted To £32K

A property development company must pay its former accountant £31,900 ($43,200) for maternity discrimination after she won her appeal against an initial figure of £5,000, a tribunal has ruled.
June 11, 2025
EU Lawmakers Urged To Boost Share Settlement Competition

A trade body for financial institutions in Europe has asked lawmakers to prioritize making clearing and settlement service more competitive in plans to integrate and grow European Union capital markets.
June 11, 2025
FCA Warns Financial Advisers Of Retirement Advice Failings

The City watchdog said Wednesday that it has found that companies providing retirement income advice are failing to record clients' financial situations or revisit their attitude to risk in a thematic review.
June 11, 2025
Nearly 80% Of Trustees Plan To Access Pension Surplus

More than three-quarters of retirement savings plan trustees have said they are planning to use new powers floated by the government that will allow them to distribute surpluses tied up in their schemes, a consultancy has said.
June 10, 2025
Innsworth Seeks Review Of £200M Mastercard Settlement Split

Litigation funder Innsworth announced Tuesday it was launching a High Court challenge to how the Competition Appeal Tribunal decided to distribute a £200 million ($270 million) settlement reached between Mastercard and Walter Merricks to end litigation over credit card fees.
June 10, 2025
CMS Faces £10M Negligence Claim Over Investec Debt Advice

A property developer has alleged that law firm CMS owes him at least £10 million ($14 million) for negligent advice concerning a debt-restructuring plan that he says he never would have agreed to if he had been given proper warning.
June 10, 2025
Greensill Says He Was Trapped In Katerra Restructuring Deal

Lex Greensill said Tuesday that he was "between a rock and a hard place" in a restructuring deal involving his eponymous firm and SoftBank, a Japanese investment company, as the former banker gave evidence in a $440 million trial in London of a claim brought by a collapsed Credit Suisse fund.
June 10, 2025
UK Treasury Committee Warns HMRC Over Phishing Attack

A British treasury committee warned HM Revenue & Customs in a letter published Tuesday that its failure to report details of a breach affecting around 100,000 taxpayers is unacceptable.
June 10, 2025
Apple, Sony Fight Class Reps Over New Legal Funding Deals

Apple, Visa, Mastercard and Sony told the Court of Appeal Tuesday that funding agreements driving multiple competition class action claims in the U.K. are unlawful and unenforceable.
June 10, 2025
Insolvency Service Hires Crypto-Specialist To Aid Recoveries

A U.K. government agency responsible for investigating company insolvencies has appointed its first crypto-specialist to help recover digital assets such as bitcoin for creditors.
June 10, 2025
Expanding FCA Taps Ex-Crime Agency Exec As Deputy CEO

The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday that it has appointed Sarah Pritchard, a qualified litigator and former director of the National Economic Crime Centre, as deputy chief executive to handle its expanding remit.
June 10, 2025
FCA's Rathi Tries To Gauge Gov't Risk Appetite For Crypto

The Financial Conduct Authority warned a cross-party group of MPs on Tuesday it needed a steer on the government's risk appetite for crypto-assets amid the push for U.K. competitiveness and economic growth.

Editor's Picks

5 Questions For Spencer West Partner Karl Foster

The Financial Conduct Authority's approach to enforcement and consumer protection has come up against government economic growth priorities and resistance from the sector to its proposals to "name and shame" companies early on during regulatory probes.
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.

Expert Analysis

Fraud Office Guidance Highlights Value Of Self-Reporting

New guidance from the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office on corporate self-reporting, cooperation and deferred prosecution agreements provides a useful framework for companies navigating criminal investigations and their potential resolutions — and underscores that corporations that self-report are in a better position to obtain DPAs than those that do not, say lawyers at Skadden.
Open Questions As FCA Prepares Buy Now, Pay Later Rules

HM Treasury’s recent response to its consultation on buy now, pay later lending regulation is clear on policy, but with rules still to be set by the Financial Conduct Authority it is difficult for firms to plan for change, and they should take advantage now of the opportunity to liaise with the regulator, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
What End of Payment Systems Regulator Means For Biz

The U.K. government’s plan to abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and absorb its functions into the Financial Conduct Authority should eventually lighten the compliance burden for businesses under the PSR’s remit, which may in turn encourage growth, but the proposed changes will roll out slowly, say lawyers at Farrer & Co.
Compliance Lessons From Art Dealer's Terror Financing Plea

Regulated businesses can learn from the missteps of a recently convicted London art dealer, who failed to disclose sales to a suspected Hezbollah financier, by implementing compliance measures like anti-terrorism financing screenings as robust as their anti-money laundering policies and training staff to spot red flags, say lawyers at White & Case.
UK Securities Tax Reform Will Be Welcomed By Investors

The proposed reforms resulting from HM Revenue & Customs' recent consultation on modernizing stamp taxes on shares, suggesting a single digital tax on securities to replace stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax, are expected to reduce complexity for investors transacting in U.K. securities, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
UK Capital Reforms May Help Startup Founders, VC Investors

Hidden in the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on the definition of capital for investment firms are changes to the eligibility requirements for instruments to be included in a firm's regulatory capital — changes that may reduce the risk of investing, especially in early-stage fintech firms, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.
EU Watchdog's ESG Dashboard Raises Transparency Bar

The European Banking Authority’s recently introduced ESG dashboard is a key tool in aligning financial institutions with the European Union's sustainability policies, and fundamentally alters the risk environment by transitioning climate-related data from a compliance afterthought to a core component of strategic decision-making, says Kristýna Tupá at Schönherr.
What To Note As HM Treasury, FCA Plan New Crypto Regs

Taken together, HM Treasury’s recently proposed crypto-asset regulations and the Financial Conduct Authority’s new discussion paper on regulating crypto-asset activities provide key insights into the government's planned regime, which represents significant changes that will affect all firms providing related services, says Mark Chalmers at Davis Polk.
Tools For Effective Asset Tracking In Offshore Jurisdictions

In light of a technology company's recent allegations that its former CEO maintained an undisclosed interest in offshore companies, practitioners may want to refresh their knowledge of the tool kit available for tracing and recovering allegedly misappropriated assets from both onshore and offshore jurisdictions, say lawyers at Walkers Global.
FCA Review Highlights Valuation Standards For Private Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent review of private funds valuation practices underscores the increasing importance of conducting robust and independent procedures, offering an opportunity for fund managers to strengthen their current valuation frameworks and improve investor confidence, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
What Santander Fraud Ruling Means For UK Banking Sector

A London court's recent judgment in Santander v. CCP Graduate School held that a bank does not owe any duty to third-party victims of authorized push payment fraud, reaffirming the steps banks are already taking to protect their own customers from sophisticated fraud mechanisms, say lawyers at Charles Russell.
FCA Update Eases Private Stock Market Disclosure Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated proposals for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System would result in less onerous disclosure obligations for businesses, reflecting ongoing efforts to balance an attractive trading venue for private companies while maintaining sufficient investor protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Key Questions As Court Mulls Traders' Libor Convictions

The U.K. Supreme Court is considering whether to overturn two traders’ Libor and Euribor manipulation convictions, with the appeal reinvigorating debate over the breadth of English common law’s conspiracy to defraud offense and raising questions about the limits of a judge’s role in criminal jury trials, says Ellen Gallagher at Vardags.
Expect Complex Ruling From UK Justices In Car Dealer Case

While recent arguments before the U.K. Supreme Court in a consumer test case on motor finance commissions reveal the court’s take on several points argued, application of the upcoming decision will be both nuanced and fact-sensitive, so market participants wishing to prepare do not have a simple task, says Tom Grodecki at Cadwalader.
How UK Proposals Would Simplify Fund Manager Regime

The ongoing HM Treasury consultation and Financial Conduct Authority call for input on the future regulation of alternative investment fund managers indicate that deliberate steps are being taken to make the AIF regime more suitable for the U.K. market, with the aim of encouraging growth and competitiveness, says Leonard Ng at Sidley.