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Financial Services UK
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October 03, 2024
Whisky Fund Manager To Pay £51K Over Sexist Treatment
An employment tribunal has ordered an investment consultancy specializing in rare whiskies to pay £51,800 ($68,000) to a female staff member after employees harassed her and forced her out with sexist treatment.
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October 03, 2024
New UK Anti-Fraud Law Could Fuel Prosecution Of Individuals
The new "failure to prevent fraud" offense that is likely to take effect in 2025 was written to target large companies that do not have internal controls to prevent such crime, but lawyers are warning clients that bosses will be expected to help pursue individual fraudsters
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October 03, 2024
Pension Co. Expects Greater Investment Plan Detail In Budget
More detail on how the British government plans to generate greater investment from the £800 billion ($1.05 trillion) defined contribution sector into the economy seems "highly likely" to feature in the upcoming autumn Budget, PensionBee has said.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps
The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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FCA Doubles Down On New Priorities With Target ID Plan
Respondents to the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent consultation on its plan to publicly name subjects under investigation are concerned that the regulator’s cost-benefit analysis has not adequately considered the risks, but the FCA is holding firm, and it seems likely the changes will be implemented, says James Tyler at Peters & Peters.
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Examining Senior Managers' Accountability For AI Use
With the Financial Conduct Authority's artificial intelligence update and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s letter to the government offering key guidance on the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, Senior Managers in these organizations need to show they have taken steps to prevent breaching requirements in order not to be held personally accountable, says Jennifer Holyoake at DLA Piper.
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FCA Brokerage Changes Offer Asset Managers Wider Options
The Financial Conduct Authority’s fast-tracked plan to lift its controversial ban on joint payments to broker-dealers for third-party services will be welcomed by many asset managers wishing to return to a soft commission structure, say Richard Frase and Simon Wright at Dechert.
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What Cos. Should Know About The EU Greenwashing Rules
The EU's recently proposed Green Claims Directive introduces new rules to improve the transparency and honesty of environmental claims in advertising, which will help ensure that consumers receive accurate and reliable information to make informed purchasing decisions, says Daja Apetz-Dreier at Morgan Lewis.
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Sanctions Ruling Opens Door For Enforcer To Clear Up Rules
In Vneshprombank v. Bedzhamov, the High Court recently argued against a broader interpretation of the test on reasonable suspicion for asset freezes, offering the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation an opportunity to clarify when freezes should be applied and respond to judicial criticism of its guidance on financial sanctions, says Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.
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'Debanking' Complaints Highlight Need For Flexibility In AML
The House of Commons' Treasury Committee's concerns about bank account closures have highlighted certain counterproductive features of anti-money laundering laws, and the review offers the opportunity for a more flexible approach, says John Binns at BCL Solicitors.
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Mitigating Incarceration's Impacts On Foreign Nationals
Sentencing arguments that highlighted the disparate impact incarceration would have on a British national recently sentenced for insider training by a New York district court, when compared to similarly situated U.S. citizens, provide an example of the advocacy needed to avoid or mitigate problems unique to noncitizen defendants, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: The Benefits Of Non-EU Venues
In Spain v. Triodos, a Swedish appeal court recently annulled an intra-EU investment treaty award, reinforcing a growing trend in the bloc against enforcing such awards, and highlighting the advantages of initiating enforcement proceedings in common law jurisdictions, such as the U.K., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.
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How Proposed Platforms For Unlisted Co. Trading May Work
The U.K. government is continuing development of its proposed private intermittent securities and capital exchange system to facilitate secondary share trading in private companies through a regulatory sandbox while ironing out details, representing an innovative step for unlisted company liquidity, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Experian Ruling Helps Cos. Navigate GDPR Transparency
In Information Commissioner v. Experian, the Upper Tribunal recently reaffirmed the lawfulness of the company's marketing practices, providing guidance that will assist organizations in complying with the GDPR’s transparency obligations, say lawyers at Jenner & Block.
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Clarity Is Central Theme In FCA's Greenwashing Guidance
Recent Financial Conduct Authority guidance for complying with the U.K. regulator's anti-greenwashing rule sends an overarching message that sustainability claims must be clear, accurate and capable of being substantiated, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
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How New FCA Rules Strengthen Borrower Protections
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published final rules, aimed at strengthening protections for borrowers in financial difficulty by regularizing good practices across the industry, put its previous guidance on a permanent footing and send a clear message to firms that this issue remains a regulatory priority, say James Black, Julie Patient and Mark Aengenheister at Hogan Lovells.
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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.