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Financial Services UK
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September 03, 2024
BBVA Gets UK Regulatory OK For €12B Bid For TSB Owner
Spanish lending giant BBVA said Tuesday the U.K.'s Prudential Regulation Authority has given the approval for it to indirectly acquire control of British-based TSB Bank PLC as part of its €12 billion ($13.3 billion) hostile takeover bid of rival Banco de Sabadell.
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September 03, 2024
Bahamian Bank Hit With $15M Claim Over Loan Deal Breach
The director of a U.S. biotech company has filed a $15 million legal claim against a Bahamian bank, as he accused it of improperly terminating a $3 million loan agreement because of several defaults.
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September 03, 2024
Half Of Women Unsure They Will Have Enough For Retirement
More than half of women in Britain do not believe they will have enough money to support their income in retirement, findings by an investment management company suggest, amid concerns over the gender pension gap.
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September 03, 2024
Pay To Play: The 2-Tier Legal Route For Crypto-Fraud Victims
More people are falling victim to cryptocurrency scams, but their options for recovering money are few and expensive, which creates a two-tier approach — one for those who have the means to pay lawyers and consultants and another for those who don't.
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September 03, 2024
Port Operator Disputes $2M Claim For Unpaid Fees
English port operator Freetown Terminal Holding has denied that it owes a Swiss consultancy $2 million in unpaid fees tied to shareholders' dividends, saying that their agreement had been terminated before the payouts were made.
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September 02, 2024
Simpson Thacher-Led Blackstone Inks €1B Property Deal
Blackstone Inc. is snapping up an 80% holding in a portfolio of European properties valued at approximately €1 billion ($1.1 billion), seller Burstone Group Ltd. said Monday, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP advising the asset management giant.
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September 09, 2024
A&O Shearman Hires PE Pros From Sidley Austin In London
A&O Shearman LLP said Monday it has secured a double-hire from Sidley Austin LLP in London as the firm expands its global private equity practice.
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September 02, 2024
OFSI To Bring 1st Penalty For Sanctions Violation This Year
Britain's sanctions enforcer will bring the first penalty for breaching the banning rules later this year as the agency looks to crack down on Russian oligarchs whose assets have been frozen since the invasion of Ukraine, a senior Treasury official said Monday.
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September 02, 2024
Greensill, Gupta Deny Conspiracy In Zurich Insurance Row
Financier Lex Greensill and steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta have denied conspiring to deceive underwriters at insurance giant Zurich over allegedly fake debts, amid a $400 million court battle in London over trade credit insurance.
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September 02, 2024
Manolete Wins Nearly £1M Over Director's Breach Of Duties
An insolvency litigation financing company has secured a victory worth £918,590 ($1.2 million) against the former director of Just Recruit Group Ltd. after a court found that he had breached his duties during the financial collapse of the business.
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September 02, 2024
Tribunal Backs FCA In Denying Ashraf Wealth Management
A London Tribunal upheld on Monday the Financial Conduct Authority's decision to deny authorization to Ashraf Wealth Management Ltd., after the regulator concluded its founder should not carry out regulated activities unsupervised.
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September 02, 2024
William Fry Guides Ireland In AIB's €500M Buyback
Allied Irish Banks said Monday that it plans to buy back €500 million ($550 million) of its shares from the Irish state to reduce its crisis-era bailout stake in the lender after it disclosed "a very strong first half" of the year.
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September 02, 2024
EU Asset Managers Seek Strong Governance On Data Feeds
A trade body for European asset managers called on Monday for strong governance of providers of consolidated tapes, which set out prices and volumes of shares and bonds in bloc-wide feeds for investors.
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August 30, 2024
UK's Labour Gov't Urged To Raise Capital Gains Tax
The Labour government is facing calls to raise the capital gains tax despite financial firms advising investors to sell off their assets or even leave the United Kingdom over the possible tax hike.
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August 30, 2024
Couple Accused Of £29B Fraud Forced To Disclose Wealth
A Chinese couple could be forced to divulge how they built a multimillion-pound property business in the U.K. after a London judge ruled Friday that investigators had reason to suspect their money came from an alleged £29 billion ($38 billion) banking fraud.
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August 30, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen television property developer Kambiz Babaee hit with a fraud claim, a Bitcoin podcaster reignite a dispute with Australian computer scientist Craig Wright and football club owner Massimo Cellino's company file a claim against ClearBank. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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August 30, 2024
Swiss Banks Face Legal Issues On Instant Payments
The Swiss Banking Association has warned that the requirement for the largest banks to offer instant payments from August is raising challenges around legal requirements like verifying the recipient's identity and sanctions checks.
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August 30, 2024
Widow Alleges Stake To $3B Oligarch Fortune Is Made Up
The widow and daughter of a Russian cement tycoon have argued that his family "invented" a business partnership agreement to rob them of inheritance, in the latest development of a fight over more than $3 billion in assets.
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August 30, 2024
Standard Life Named 'Safe Haven' For Defrauded Pensioners
Insurer Standard Life has been appointed as a "safe haven" pension provider for members of retirement schemes that have lost out to fraud, the company said.
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August 29, 2024
Fight Against Dirty Money Should Target Lawyers, Report Says
Britain's use of foreign aid to fund the fight against dirty money overseas falls short of what is needed, an anti-corruption charity warned Thursday, as it urged law enforcement authorities to take action against those who help perpetrators.
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August 29, 2024
Feds Say Ex-BigLaw Atty Can't Shake OneCoin Conviction
Federal prosecutors have told the Second Circuit that former Locke Lord LLP partner Mark S. Scott has "greatly exaggerate[d]" the importance of testimony from a government witness, some of which was later shown to be perjury, in a bid to have his money laundering conviction reversed.
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August 29, 2024
Oil Execs Get 13 Years For $1.8B 1MDB Fraud
Two former PetroSaudi executives have been sentenced at a Swiss court to a combined 13 years in prison for embezzling more than $1.8 billion from Malaysia's state-backed investment fund in what prosecutors said was one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated.
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August 29, 2024
Pension Consolidator Would Be Useful, Broadstone Says
Proposals put forward by the previous government to launch a public sector consolidator of retirement savings plans run by the pensions lifeboat fund would be a "welcome addition" to the market, Broadstone said Thursday.
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August 29, 2024
EU Warns That Greenwashing Risk Could Hit Investment
The European Union's markets watchdog said Thursday in its latest risk monitoring report that greenwashing and related malpractices are undermining investor trust and the credibility of green finance.
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August 29, 2024
Another British Steel Pension Adviser Declared In Default
A financial adviser connected to the British Steel pension scandal has been declared in default by the U.K.'s lifeboat scheme.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
New Property Category Not Needed To Regulate Digital Assets
The U.K. Law Commission's exploration of whether to create a third category of property for digital assets is derived from a misreading of historical case law, and would not be helpful in resolving any questions surrounding digital assets, says Duncan Sheehan at the University of Leeds.
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FTSE Draft Rules Show Impact Of FCA Listing Reforms
FTSE Russell’s recently published provisional rule changes represent a much-awaited indication of its response to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed listing reforms, providing a level of certainty that will assist issuers and advisers in preparing for the implementation of the regime, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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FCA Strikes A Balance With 'Finfluencer' Guidance
With financial firms leveraging social media to engage with a broader audience, the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent "finfluencer" guidance signals a recognition of the imperative to adapt regulatory frameworks while maintaining a firm commitment to consumer protection, say David Allinson and Damien O'Malley at RPC.
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Dissecting Recent Developments Against The Misuse Of NDAs
The U.K. government's recent plans to nullify nondisclosure agreements that prevent victims from reporting crimes should remind lawyers to proactively consider the necessity of such agreements, especially in light of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's warning notice on drafting improper NDAs, say Clare Davis and Macaela Joyes at RPC.
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What To Know About The Russia-Stranded Plane Ruling
The High Court's recent decision in Zephyrus Capital Aviation v. Fidelis Underwriting, rejecting reinsurers' U.K. jurisdiction challenges in claims over stranded planes in Russia, has broad implications for cross-border litigation involving exclusive jurisdiction clauses, says Samantha Zaozirny at Browne Jacobson.
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3 Notable Pensions Reforms In Spring Budget
The U.K. government’s spring budget introduced reforms to improve pension outcomes through the value for money framework and the lifetime provider model, as well as to encourage investments in Britain — three interlinked areas that could pressure trustees and providers to rethink how they approach investments, say Liz Ramsaran and Marcus Fink at DWF.
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Assessing The FCA Data Study's Response To User Concerns
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published report on the supply of wholesale financial data differs from others in its exceptional breadth and analysis of an enormous volume of information, but in its reluctance to address market power or pricing directly, the regulator’s approach is still cautious, say Emma Radcliffe and Greg Dowell at Macfarlanes.
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Focus On Private Funds Will Boost Ireland's Global Standing
As the market increasingly pivots to private funds, Ireland's recent introduction of particular products — such as an updated, flexible European long-term investment fund — provides more structuring opportunities and paves the way for a brighter outlook in the country, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Cum-Ex Prosecutions Storm Shows No Sign Of Abating
The ongoing trial of Sanjay Shah in Denmark is a clear indicator that efforts remain focused on holding to account the alleged architects and beneficiaries of cum-ex trading, and with these prosecutions making their way across Europe, it is a more turbulent time now than ever, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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Opinion
FCA Greenwashing Rules Need To Be Stronger To Be Effective
The Financial Conduct Authority's forthcoming anti-greenwashing measures, aimed at ensuring the veracity of regulated entities’ statements about sustainability credentials, need external scrutiny and an effective definition of "corporate social responsibility" to give them bite, says Jingchen Zhao at Nottingham Trent University.
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EU Ruling Exposes Sovereignty Fissures In Int'l Arbitration
The European Court of Justice's recent ruling that the U.K. had breached EU law by allowing an arbitral award to proceed underscores the diminished influence of EU jurisprudence in the U.K., hinting at the EU courts' increasingly nominal sway in international arbitration within jurisdictions that prize legal autonomy, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.
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Companies House False Filings Raise Issues Of Integrity
A recent spate of unauthorized company filings with Companies House raises specific concerns for secured lenders, but also highlights the potential for false filings to be used to facilitate fraudulent schemes, says Daniel Sullivan at Charles Russell.
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UK Courts Continue To Struggle With Crypto-Asset Cases
Although the common law has proved capable of applying established principles to crypto-assets, recent cases highlight persistent challenges in identifying defendants, locating assets and determining jurisdiction, suggesting that any meaningful development will likely come from legislative or regulatory change, say Emily Saunderson and Sam Mitchell at Quadrant Chambers.
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Comparing The UK And EU Approaches To AI Regulation
While there are significant points of convergence between the recently published U.K. approach to artificial intelligence regulation and the EU AI Act, there is also notable divergence between them, and it appears that the U.K. will remain a less regulatory environment for AI in the foreseeable future, say lawyers at Steptoe.