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Financial Services UK
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January 30, 2025
UK Gov't Vows To Overhaul Pension Lifeboat Levy
The government said Thursday that it is considering allowing the Pension Protection Fund more flexibility over how it sets its levy, as it looks at further measures to boost economic growth.
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January 30, 2025
OFSI's 'Troubling' Licensing Regime Dents Sanctions Win
The government ran a slow and "troubling" process for approving the basic living expenses of sanctioned individuals that forced an oligarch's wife to choose between breaking the law and feeding her children, but the system was nevertheless lawful, an appeals court has said.
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January 30, 2025
City Struggles With Compliance Amid Post-Brexit Rule Shifts
Brexit paved the way for Britain to rip up the EU's financial services rule book and create a more U.K.-friendly regime — but some regulatory analysts say the process is taking too long, which imposes a bigger compliance burden on companies.
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January 29, 2025
Pension Plans Seek Trader's Testimony In $2B Tax Fraud Suit
Pension plans and individuals who Denmark's government alleges received fraudulent refunds have asked a New York federal court to allow U.K. court testimony into the record from a trader who Danish authorities say masterminded a $2.1 billion tax fraud, saying it shows he deceived other participants.
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January 29, 2025
Lawyers, Ex-Tax Inspector Took £278M From Trust, Court Rules
A London appeals court has upheld a High Court ruling that two solicitors and a former senior tax manager devised a scheme to cut out beneficiaries from Jersey trusts in what they saw as a "huge commercial opportunity" to divert an estimated £278 million ($345 million) to themselves.
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January 29, 2025
Law Firm Faces £68M Ponzi Scheme Negligence Claim Again
The administrators of a group of investment companies won a second shot on Wednesday at bringing a £68 million ($85 million) negligence claim against Lupton Fawcett over a Ponzi scheme as an appeals court granting the administrators permission to revive their case.
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January 29, 2025
Barclays Beats Sex Bias Case, Citing Performance Concerns
A mortgage adviser has failed to prove that Barclays Bank treated her differently from male colleagues when it put her on an improvement plan, as an employment tribunal ruled that bosses were worried about her performance.
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January 29, 2025
Pensions Watchdog Backs Gov't Surplus Investment Plans
Britian's retirement savings watchdog has given its backing to proposals recently floated by the government that would relax rules to allow pension funds to invest billions of pounds tied up in surpluses.
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January 29, 2025
FCA Sets 1st Fine For Breach Of Transaction Reporting Rule
Infinox Capital Ltd. has been fined £99,200 ($123,240) for failing to submit transaction reports and risking market abuse going undetected, in the first action of its kind under the U.K. Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation, the Financial Conduct Authority reported Wednesday.
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January 29, 2025
UK Watchdog To Help Small Businesses Obtain Audits
The Financial Reporting Council said Wednesday it has launched a year-long campaign to help small businesses get audit services to help them raise capital.
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January 29, 2025
'Huge Disparity' In Pension Savings Between Men And Women
Recent figures revealing that adult men have almost twice as much median pension wealth as women demonstrate the "huge disparity" among retirees and highlights the need for more targeted support to bridge the gap, a financial services consultancy said Wednesday.
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January 28, 2025
Ringleader Of €297M VAT Fraud Scheme Charged In Latvia
The suspected ringleader of a €297 million ($309 million) cross-border tax fraud involving popular electronic devices has been indicted in Latvia, a European prosecutor has said.
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January 28, 2025
France Probes Binance Over Money Laundering Breaches
France's public prosecutor on Tuesday opened a criminal investigation into crypto exchange Binance over suspected money laundering and terrorist financing breaches that authorities said may have enabled tax fraud and drug trafficking.
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January 28, 2025
Gov't Floats Pension Reforms To Reinvest Surplus Funds
The U.K. government on Tuesday mapped out plans to relax pension fund rules to allow schemes to invest billions of pounds tied up in retirement plan surpluses in their own business or wider economy.
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January 28, 2025
Danish Bank Launches $70M Share Buyback Program
Danish lender Ringkjoebing began on Tuesday a stock repurchase program worth up to 500 million Danish kroner ($70 million), a move that is expected to lower the size of its outstanding share capital.
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January 28, 2025
Mediobanca Rejects Monte Dei Paschi's €13.3B Bid
Italian investment bank Mediobanca SpA said Tuesday that it has rejected a €13.3 billion ($13.9 billion) takeover offer from Monte dei Paschi for being destructive to value for shareholders at both lenders.
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January 28, 2025
EU Authorities Smash €100M Money Laundering Scheme
A group of more than 20 individuals suspected of running a €100 million ($104 million) money laundering scheme in Europe has been arrested following a two-year investigation by law enforcement authorities in Spain, Cyprus and Germany, an EU agency said Tuesday.
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January 27, 2025
HMRC Can Appeal In Dispute Over UK-Ireland Tax Agreement
HM Revenue & Customs can proceed with an appeal in its case alleging an Irish company's investment in a U.K.-based company was made to gain tax advantages, the Court of Appeal ruled Monday after hearing arguments.
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January 27, 2025
3 Sentenced For Circumventing Bank Anti-Fraud Checks
Three men were sentenced Monday for their role in running a website enabling criminals to defraud victims by circumventing banking anti-fraud checks and generating up to an estimated £7.9 million ($9.9 million) in subscription fees, the National Crime Agency has said.
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January 27, 2025
Royal London Hits Back In £27M Company Sale Row
Mutual insurance and investment firm Royal London has denied that it breached any warranties during the sale of a company to M&G and that it does not owe at least £27 million ($33.7 million) claimed by the asset manager.
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February 03, 2025
Morgan Lewis Adds Competition, Finance Pros In London
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP said Monday it has hired specialists in competition and structured finance from Baker McKenzie and Akin Gump, respectively, as it looks to continue to expand across Europe.
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January 27, 2025
FCA Urges Tribunal To OK Spoofing Fines For 3 Bond Traders
The Financial Conduct Authority asked a tribunal on Monday to uphold its disciplinary action against three traders for alleged market abuse, saying they had engaged in trading that was intended to mislead the market and should be subject to a ban and a fine.
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February 03, 2025
Simmons Hires Restructuring Pro From Dechert
Simmons & Simmons LLP has hired a restructuring expert to join its wider private equity and leveraged finance practice in London as the firm reacts to an uptick in global demand for its services in the evolving lending sector
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January 27, 2025
Trader Faces US Extradition Over $10M Securities Fraud
A trader wanted for running a "pump and dump" scheme that generated more than $10 million in unlawful stock sales will face extradition to the U.S. at a London court hearing in June, it was confirmed on Monday.
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January 27, 2025
UK Pension Deals Market Set To Hit £70B In 2025, WTW says
The pension deal market in the U.K. is likely to hit £70 billion ($88 billion) in 2025, broker WTW said Monday, as funding levels continue to improve, and more insurance companies enter the market.
Expert Analysis
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Why EU Ruling On Beneficial Ownership May Affect The UK
Following the EU judgment in Sovim v. Luxembourg that public access to beneficial ownership information conflicts with data protection rights, several British overseas territories and dependencies have recently reversed their commitment to introduce unrestricted access, and challenges to the U.K.’s liberal stance may be on the cards, says Rupert Cullen at Allectus Law.
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Key Changes In FRC Code Aim To Promote Good Governance
The focus of the recently published Financial Reporting Council Corporate Governance Code on risk management and internal controls is to ensure the competitiveness of the U.K. listing regime while not compromising on governance standards, and issuers may wish to consider updating their policies in order to follow best practice, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Ruling In FCA Case Offers Tips On Flexible Work Requests
In Wilson v. Financial Conduct Authority, the Employment Tribunal recently found that the regulator's rejection of a remote work request was justified, highlighting for employers factors that affect flexible work request outcomes, while emphasizing that individual inquiries should be considered on the specific facts, say Frances Rollin, Ella Tunnell and Kerry Garcia at Stevens & Bolton.
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Breaking Down The New UK Pension Funding Regs
Recently published U.K. pension regulations, proposing major changes to funding and investing in defined benefit pension schemes, raise implementation considerations for trustees, including the importance of the employer covenant, say Charles Magoffin and Elizabeth Bullock at Freshfields.
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Predicting DeFi Regulations At Home And Abroad In 2024
Though decentralized finance has advocates on both sides of the Atlantic in figures like U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, DeFi in 2024 seems likely to be folded into existing regulatory frameworks in the U.K. and EU, while anti-crypto scrutiny may discourage DeFi’s growth in the U.S., say Daniel Csefalvay and Eric Martin at BCLP.
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Consultation Docs Can Help EU Firms Prep For Crypto Regs
Firms providing crypto services should note two recent papers from the European Securities and Markets Authority defining proposals on reverse solicitation and financial instrument classification that will be critical to clarifying the scope of the regulatory framework under the impending Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case
After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
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Investors' Call For Voting Changes Faces Practical Challenges
A recent investor coalition call on fund managers to offer pass-through voting on pooled funds highlights a renewed concern for clients’ interests, but legal, regulatory and technological issues need to be overcome to ensure that risks related to the product are effectively mitigated, says Angeli Arora at Allectus.
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Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes
An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.
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What Extension Of French FDI Control Means For Investors
The recently published French order on foreign investment control expands the regime's application to more sectors and at a lower threshold of share ownership, illustrating France's determination to maintain sovereignty over its supply chains in sensitive sectors, and adding new considerations for potential investors in these areas, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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What To Expect For Private Capital Investment Funds In 2024
As 2024 gets underway, market sentiment in the private fundraising sphere seems more optimistic, with a greater focus on deal sourcing and operational optimizations, and an increased emphasis on impact and sustainability strategies, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
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Cayman Islands Off AML Risk Lists, Signaling Robust Controls
As a world-leading jurisdiction for securitization special purpose entities, the removal of the Cayman Islands from increased anti-money laundering monitoring lists is a significant milestone that will benefit new and existing financial services customers conducting business in the territory, say lawyers at Walkers Global.
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Cos. Should Plan Now For Extensive EU Data Act Obligations
The recently enacted EU Data Act imposes wide-ranging requirements across industries and enterprises of all sizes, and with less than 20 months until the provisions begin to apply, businesses planning compliance will need to incorporate significant product changes and revision of contract terms, say Nick Banasevic, Robert Spano and Ciara O'Gara at Gibson Dunn.
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How Decision On A Key Definition Affects SMEs
The Financial Conduct Authority's decision not to extend the definition of small and midsized enterprises may benefit banks and finance providers in the current high interest rate environment and where SMEs in certain sectors may be under financial pressure in light of the cost-of-living crisis in order to streamline it, says Rachael Healey at RPC.
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What New Digital Sandbox Regs Hold In Store For UK Markets
The recently enacted Digital Sandbox Regulations will be key to incorporating distributed ledger technology into the activities of a central securities depository, but despite being a potentially transformative innovation, a number of considerations may need to be addressed to accommodate the trading, settlement and maintenance of shares, say Tom Bacon and Andrew Tsang at BCLP.