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Financial Services UK
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October 03, 2024
Herbert Smith-Led WTW Buys Stake In Wealth Manager
Insurance group Willis Towers Watson PLC said Thursday that it has acquired a minority stake in U.K. wealth manager Atomos, following an alliance between the companies since 2022.
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October 03, 2024
EU Finance Bodies Seek Clarity On Cybersecurity Compliance
Financial trade bodies across the European Union have urged regulators to clarify critical requirements under the Digital Operational Resilience Act, which is set to come into effect in January, saying they are not clear on how the cybersecurity legislation applies to them.
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October 02, 2024
UK To Give Banks New Powers To Combat Fraudsters
The U.K. government said Thursday it is introducing new laws enabling banks to extend investigations of suspected fraudulent payments.
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October 02, 2024
Parliamentary Ombudsman Probes Pensions Injustice
The independent complaints body for government departments has launched an inquiry into historical injustices in state pensions that could lead to hundreds of millions of pounds being paid out in compensation to women who were affected, a consultancy said Thursday.
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October 02, 2024
FCA Wins Appeal In $700M BlueCrest Investor Redress Case
The Financial Conduct Authority can resume its bid to impose a redress scheme of more than $700 million for investors of hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management, an appeals court said Wednesday, ruling that a tribunal wrongly held that the regulator did not have that power.
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October 02, 2024
Italian Lender Beats Rival's Challenge To 'Isybank' TM Bid
An Austrian bank cannot rely on its "Easybank" trademarks to stop Italian rival Intesa Sanpaolo from protecting its "Isybank" brand because there is no likelihood of European Union consumers mixing up the signs, officials in the bloc have ruled.
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October 09, 2024
Shoosmiths Adds Privacy & Data Partner From BCLP
Shoosmiths LLP has hired a new partner to its privacy and data unit in London from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, with the new arrival saying Wednesday that an immediate rapport with Shoosmiths' partners led her to jump ship.
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October 02, 2024
Hogan Lovells Leads Royal London's 1st £30M Pension Deal
The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd. completed its first full scheme buy-in with the £30 million ($39.8 million) acquisition of The Retreat York Pension Scheme in a deal guided by Hogan Lovells and Wrigleys Solicitors, its adviser K3 Advisory said Wednesday.
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October 02, 2024
FCA Fines Starling £29M For 'Shockingly Lax' Client Screening
The U.K.'s City watchdog said Wednesday that it has hit Starling Bank Ltd. with a £28.9 million ($38.4 million) fine over failures to screen for financial sanctions and for breaching a ban on opening accounts for high-risk clients.
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October 02, 2024
Reed Smith Steers £140M Pension Deal For Insurance Biz
Aviva PLC has covered £140 million ($186 million) of pension liabilities for insurance group Thomas Miller & Co. Ltd. to secure the benefits of all members of the retirement savings plan, the companies said Wednesday.
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October 01, 2024
Westfield Denies Infringing Clearpay IP In Partnership Dispute
Shopping giant Westfield has returned fire in a battle with Clearpay Finance Ltd. over a collapsed partnership, with the shopping center company denying infringing the credit business's intellectual property by continuing to show Clearpay advertisements in its centers.
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October 01, 2024
Investors Settle Wirecard Fraud Case With Transfer Provider
Two businessmen have settled claims worth €33 million ($36.5 million) brought by investors who alleged the pair duped them into selling their stake in a money transfer provider for a pittance before the company was sold on to payments giant Wirecard for many times the price.
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October 01, 2024
McFaddens Dodges Client's Late Claim Over Loan Advice
A court said Tuesday that a City of London law firm can sidestep a client's claim that she received negligent advice over a loan, ruling that there was no good reason for her filing key details of the claim too late.
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October 08, 2024
Eversheds Sutherland Taps Rutgers & Posch For Finance Trio
Eversheds Sutherland said Tuesday it has hired three finance lawyers from Dutch law firm Rutgers & Posch as it looks to grow its partner cohort in the Benelux region.
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October 01, 2024
UK's 1st Sanction Fine Fires Warning Shot, But A Muffled One
Britain's sanctions enforcer's recently imposed its first fine for a breach of Russia-related restrictions — a modest reminder that the watchdog will penalize companies that fail to understand black-letter regulations rather than the warning shot that lawyers had expected.
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October 01, 2024
Lloyd's Says Forgery Sinks Claim Over Ship Struck In Ukraine
Lloyd's of London's Belgian unit has denied owing a wealth advisory business $3.7 million to cover alleged losses after a ship was struck by a mine, claiming the vessel at the time was trading in Ukrainian waters so it wasn't covered under the insurance policy.
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October 01, 2024
Pension Insurance Deal Market To Hit £60B In 2025
The total value of pension insurance transactions could hit £60 billion ($79.6 billion) for the first time next year, according to a poll of lawyers, trustees and others in the retirement sector published on Tuesday.
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October 01, 2024
Crypto Developers Take Aim At 'Patent Trolls' In New Deal
A cryptocurrency collective said Tuesday it has inked a deal with Unified Patents to help stop "patent trolls" from registering intellectual property that risks hampering blockchain innovation.
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October 01, 2024
EU Markets Watchdog To Help Tighten Greenwashing Rules
The markets watchdog of the European Union said Tuesday that it will concentrate more on sustainable finance rules, and will develop tools to help national regulators address risks such as greenwashing.
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October 01, 2024
4 Firms Guide Partners Group In €6.7B Sale Of German Biz
Swiss private equity shop Partners Group said Tuesday that it is selling its stake in a German digital energy metering business to Texas-based TPG and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund for approximately €6.7 billion ($7.4 billion).
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September 30, 2024
Chancery Sidelines Squarespace Merger Doc Suit For Now
A Delaware Court of Chancery action to compel stockholder access to website builder Squarespace Inc.'s corporate records remained under a stay Monday, after a court finding that the suit aimed to preserve future review rights focused on a proposed $7.2 billion company take-private deal.
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September 30, 2024
German Lawyer Charged Over €428M Cum-Ex Fraud
A lawyer has been charged in Germany with several counts of "serious tax evasion" over his alleged role in a €428 million ($477 million) so-called cum-ex dividend tax fraud, a German court confirmed Monday.
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September 30, 2024
BoE Tells Banks To Assess Climate-Related Credit Risk Better
The Bank of England has told chief financial officers of large U.K. banks to improve their climate-related credit risk assessments following the latest annual written reports from auditors.
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September 30, 2024
Ex-Meghraj Boss Still Being Pursued Over £1.8M Pension Bill
The U.K.'s retirement watchdog said Monday that a former company director was still being pursued for payment into a staff pension scheme, more than a year after he was slapped with a £1.8 million ($2.4 million) bill.
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September 30, 2024
FCA Secures 1st Conviction Of Illegal Crypto ATM Operator
A businessman pled guilty on Monday in London to running an illegal crypto ATM network in the U.K. in what the Financial Conduct Authority said was the first conviction in the country of its kind.
Expert Analysis
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EU Investment Fund Standards Offer Welcome Clarity
The European Commission’s recently published regulatory technical standards for long-term investments, which granted managers greater flexibility with respect to open-ended European long-term investment funds, should help managers active in the space navigate the mandatory liquidity requirements for long-term investment funds, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Nishkaam Paul at Fried Frank.
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Unpacking The New Concept Of 'Trading Misfeasance'
In addition to granting one of the largest trading awards since the Insolvency Act was passed in 1986, the High Court recently introduced a novel claim for misfeasant trading in Wright v. Chappell, opening the door to liability for directors, even where insolvent liquidation or administration was not inevitable, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
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Key Takeaways From Proposed EU Anticorruption Directive
The European Commission's anticorruption proposal, on which the EU Council recently adopted a position, will substantially alter the landscape of corporate compliance and liability across the EU, so companies will need to undertake rigorous revisions of their compliance frameworks to align with the directive's demands, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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How Regulation Of Tech Providers Is Breaking New Ground
The forthcoming EU regulation on digital operational resilience and the U.K. critical third-party regime, by expanding the direct application of financial services regulation to designated technology providers, represent a significant development that is not to be underestimated, say David Berman and Emily Lemaire at Covington.
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What EU Net-Zero Act Will Mean For Tech Manufacturers
Martin Weitenberg at Eversheds Sutherland discusses the European Council’s recently adopted Net-Zero Industry Act and provides an overview of its main elements relevant for net-zero technology manufacturers, including benchmarks, enhanced permitting procedures and the creation of new institutions.
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Complying With EU Commission's Joint Purchasing Rules
One year after the European Commission released its revised guidelines on horizontal cooperation agreements, attorneys at Crowell & Moring reflect on the various forms such agreements can take, and how parties can avoid structuring arrangements that run afoul of competition law.
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Tips For Implementing EU Sustainability Reporting Guidance
Lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell discuss the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group’s recently published guidance on double materiality assessments and offer takeaways on achieving a sustainability directive-compliant process that could enhance clarity and consistency among multinational stakeholders.
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Why Ukraine Aircraft Insurance Case Failed To Take Off In UK
In Aercap v. PJSC Insurance, the High Court decided the claimants could not avoid an exclusive jurisdiction clause and advance their case in England rather than Ukraine, and the reasoning is likely to be of relevance in future jurisdiction disputes, say Abigail Healey and Genevieve Douglas at Quillon Law.
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Labour's 'Fresh Approach' To Tackling Financial Crime
Given newly elected Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s background as a criminal defense lawyer and director of public prosecutions, an administration with strong views on financial crime can be expected, and revenue raising and proceeds of crime recovery are likely to be at the forefront, says Matthew Cowie at Rahman Ravelli.
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Unpacking Pressures, Trends Affecting Global Supply Chains
A recent HSBC report reveals a number of trends and challenges for global supply chains in the current uncertain geopolitical landscape, and with constant emerging opportunities, companies that can stay informed, be proactive and adapt to change will be well positioned to succeed, says Michelle Craven-Faulkner at Shoosmiths.
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What UK Digital Markets Act Will Mean For Competition Law
The new Digital Markets Act’s reforms will strengthen the Competition and Markets Authority's investigatory and enforcement powers across its full remit of merger control and antitrust investigations, representing a seismic shift in the U.K. competition and consumer law landscape, say lawyers at Travers Smith.
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What New UK Labour Gov't Is Planning For Financial Services
Following the Labour Party’s U.K. election win on July 4, the new government has already announced its key missions for economic growth, green investment and tax reform, so affected Financial Conduct Authority-regulated entities should be prepared for change and on the lookout for details, says Rachael Healey at RPC.
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Companies Trading In The EU Should Heed Mondelēz Ruling
The European Commission’s recent €337.5 million fine of Mondelēz is the latest decision targeting restrictions on EU cross-border trade, and serves as a warning to companies active in the region to check their contracts and practices for illegal restraints, and to perform audits to ensure compliance, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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Why Reperforming Loan Securitization In UK And EU May Rise
The recently published new U.K. securitization rules will largely bring the U.K.’s nonperforming loan regime in line with the European Union, and together with the success of EU and U.K. banks in reducing loan ratios, reperforming securitizations may feature more prominently in relevant markets going forward, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
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What French Watchdog Ruling Means For M&A Landscape
Although ultimately dismissed due to lack of evidence, the French competition authority’s recent post-closing review of several nonreportable mergers is a landmark case that highlights the increased complexity of such transactions, and is further testament to the European competition authorities’ willingness to expand their toolkit to address below-threshold M&As, say lawyers at Cleary.