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Financial Services UK
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August 16, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Barry Manilow sued by music rights company Hipgnosis, a struck-off immigration lawyer take on the Solicitor's Disciplinary Tribunal and the former CEO of a collapsed bridging loan firm start proceedings against the FCA. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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August 16, 2024
Pension Scheme Endgames Pushed Back Amid Falling Yields
The average timeline for U.K. pension schemes to reach a point where they can buy out their liabilities with an insurance company was extended last month, due to falling bond yields, experts said.
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August 16, 2024
Specialist Lender OSB Announces New £50M Share Buyback
OSB Group PLC said it will roll out a share repurchase program worth up to £50 million ($65 million) as the buy-to-let lender announced an increased pretax profit but warned of more competition in the "subdued" mortgage market.
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August 16, 2024
PwC Fined £15M For Failing To Flag LC&F Fraud Suspicion
The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it has fined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP £15 million ($19.3 million) for failing to report to the regulator its belief that London Capital & Finance PLC might be involved in fraud.
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August 16, 2024
Revolut Valued At $45B After Secondary Equity Issue
U.K. fintech Revolut said Friday it has secured a $45 billion valuation in a share sale by its employees to new and existing investors, cementing its status as Europe's most valuable private technology company.
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August 16, 2024
FCA Apologizes For Treatment of 'Voluntary Requirement'
Britain's financial watchdog has apologized for an unnecessary extension of two years of publishing on its register a "voluntary requirement" for a company indicating failure to meet standards after the Complaints Commissioner upheld a claim.
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August 15, 2024
Union Group Calls For UK To Address Gender Pension Gap
The Trades Union Congress has said retired women receive £7,000 ($9,000) a year less from their pensions than retired men, a gender gap, it warns, that is closing far too slowly.
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August 15, 2024
Gov't Urged To Unlock £16B LGPS Pensions For Investment
The U.K. government could immediately unlock around £16 billion ($20.5 billion) of investment in U.K. infrastructure just by lifting thresholds on the asset class constraining the Local Government Pension Scheme, a report found.
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August 15, 2024
FCA Censures Audit Firm On Client Assets Report Breaches
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday it has censured auditor Macintyre Hudson LLP for failing to report breaches of the FCA's rules on treatment of client assets.
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August 15, 2024
London's Listing Regime Revamp Overshadows Junior Market
The revamp by the City watchdog of the London Stock Exchange's rule book, which burnishes its appeal for corporate listings in competition with U.S. and European markets, has raised doubts on the future role of the junior market for growth companies and tech startups, lawyers say.
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August 14, 2024
Ukrainian Bank In $1.1B Russia Case Points To Nigeria Ruling
A Ukrainian bank looking to enforce a $1.1 billion arbitral award against Russia has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to consider a decision issued last week by the D.C. Circuit rejecting Nigeria's sovereign immunity defense in another litigation over an arbitral award.
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August 14, 2024
PwC Owes $11M For Tax Errors, Real Estate Group Says
PwC should pay £8.9 million ($11.4 million) in damages to a real estate group for miscalculating its tax liabilities and mispricing its properties, which prompted several additional assessments and penalties, according to a claim in a London court.
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August 14, 2024
Adviser Denies Owing Bank £9.2M After Bad Property Loan
A property adviser has denied overvaluing a building development and causing a U.K. bank to lend millions of pounds more than it should have, claiming it made a competent assessment within the same range as other independent valuers.
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August 14, 2024
World Bank Member Sues Lebanese Lender For Unpaid $234M
A member of the World Bank Group is suing Lebanon's largest private lender for more than $234 million in loans and interest payments due over the past four years, as the Middle Eastern state has struggled with a major financial crisis that devalued its currency.
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August 14, 2024
Aegon Launches Digital Pension Comparison Service
Financial firm Aegon UK PLC launched a digital pension transfer comparison service on Wednesday with The Pension Lab to enable savers to compare the costs of different plans.
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August 14, 2024
Pension Funding Surplus Rises To £475B Despite Rate Cut
The funding surplus of British retirement savings plans rose to £475.5 billion ($611 billion) at the end of July, according to official figures released on Wednesday, even as experts warned of the need to hedge against fresh interest rate cuts.
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August 14, 2024
EU Watchdog Sets Priorities For Bank Resolution Rules
The European Union banking watchdog has found banks need to prepare better for the process of orderly failure known as resolution, including by obtaining more accurate data for assessing their financial positions.
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August 14, 2024
FCA Fines, Bans Consultant For Leaving Clients Uninsured
The financial regulator said Wednesday that it has banned an insurance consultant from working in financial services and hit him with a fine of just over £5,000 ($6,430) fine for using funds from clients to pay his business and personal debts.
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August 14, 2024
Cypriot Forex Firm Fined For Exploiting Customers
Britain's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it has hit Cypriot trading firm Forex TB Ltd. with a £276,100 ($355,000) fine for failing to treat customers fairly and providing unauthorized investment advice.
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August 13, 2024
Travelers Defends DWFM Beckman Over Investment Advice
The insurer of now-defunct DWFM Beckman LLP has hit back against claims that the firm negligently advised a real estate investor on an almost £20 million ($25.5 million) deal, denying that the firm advised her on the investment at all.
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August 13, 2024
Probe Unveils €500M Money-Laundering Group, Agency Says
European and Brazilian authorities have searched multiple homes and frozen millions in assets during an operation investigating what is alleged to be an Italian mafia-run money-laundering network worth more than €500 million ($547.8 million), the European Union law enforcement agency Eurojust announced Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
UK Charity Sector Pension Funding Reaches £50B
The charity sector's pension schemes have seen funding reach £50 billion ($63.9 billion) in 2022, potentially leading to more pension buy-outs, according to a report published Tuesday by pensions consultancy Hymans Robertson LLP.
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August 13, 2024
PA Forced To Visit Boss' Home During Lockdown Wins £115K
Two hedge fund bosses must pay a former personal assistant over £115,000 ($147,468) after an employment tribunal found the businessman had asked her to unnecessarily go against COVID-19 restrictions by working from their homes.
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August 13, 2024
Firm Ex-Director Gets 15-Year Sanction For Investment Scam
A former director of an investment firm has had a ban on working as a company executive extended to 2033 after he was convicted of a Ponzi scheme fraud at an English court, the U.K.'s Insolvency Service has said.
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August 13, 2024
JPMorgan Trust Seeks Shareholder Nod For Equity Raise
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income PLC said Tuesday that it is seeking approval from its shareholders to grant the investment trust the authority to issue up to 200 million of its shares in light of strong investor demand.
Expert Analysis
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How EU Sustainability Directive Will Improve Co. Reporting
The need for organizations to make nonfinancial disclosures under the recently adopted EU Sustainability Reporting Standards will significantly change workforce and human rights reporting, and with the objective of fostering transparency, should bring about an increased focus on risks, policies and action plans, say Philip Spyropoulos and Thomas Player at Eversheds Sutherland.
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PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms
The Supreme Court's recent decision in Canada Square v. Potter, which found that the claimant's missold payment protection insurance claim was not time-barred, is bad news for affected financial services firms, as there is now certainty over the law on the postponement of limitation periods, rendering hidden commission claims viable, say Ian Skinner and Chris Webber at Squire Patton.
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What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings
The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.
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Economic Crime Act Exposure: What Companies Can Expect
The intention of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is to make it easier to attribute criminal liability to companies if a senior manager has committed an offense, but the impact on corporate criminal convictions depends on who qualifies as a senior manager and the evidential challenges in showing it, say Hayley Ichilcik and Julius Handler at MoFo.
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FCA Promotions Review Sends A Strong Message To Firms
The recent FCA review into firms' compliance with the rules on promoting high-risk investments to retail clients clarifies that it expects the letter and the spirit of the rules to be followed, and given the interplay with the consumer duty, there are wider implications at stake, say Marina Reason and Chris Hurn at Herbert Smith.
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When Can Bonuses Be Clawed Back?
The High Court's recent decision in Steel v. Spencer should remind employees that the contractual conditions surrounding bonuses and the timing of any resignation must be carefully considered, as in certain circumstances, bonuses can and are being successfully clawed back by employers, say Merrill April and Rachael Parker at CM Murray.
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The State Of UK Litigation Funding After Therium Ruling
The recent English High Court decision in Therium v. Bugsby Property has provided a glimmer of hope for litigation funders about how courts will interpret this summer's U.K. Supreme Court ruling that called funding agreements impermissible, suggesting that its adverse effects may be mitigated, says Daniel Williams at DWF Law.
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UK Shareholding Report A Missed Opportunity For New Tech
The recommendations in the U.K. Digitization Taskforce's recent report on digitizing and improving the U.K. shareholding framework are moderate but not revolutionary, and its failure to recommend digital ledger technology will impede a full transformation of the system, say Tom Bacon and Andrew Tsang at BCLP.
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Tools M&A Deal Makers Can Use To Bridge Valuation Gaps
As macroeconomic headwinds reset valuation expectations, parties to merger and acquisition are increasingly looking to methods such as earnouts, vendor financing and minority transactions to bridge the valuation gap and get deals done, says Philip Herbst at Cleary.
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Navigating The Novel Challenges Facing The Legal Profession
The increasing prominence of ESG and AI have transformed the legal landscape and represent new opportunities for lawyers, but with evolving regulations and the ever-expanding reach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, law firms should ensure that they have appropriate policies in place to adapt to these challenges, say Scott Ashby and Aimee Talbot at RPC.
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Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint
In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.
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Economic Crime Act Brings Changes For Limited Partnerships
The recently passed Economic Crime Act introduces significant financial transparency obligations for new and existing U.K. limited partnerships, and with criminal consequences for noncompliance, a degree of advance consideration is strongly advised, say Amelia Stawpert and Alex Jones at Hogan Lovells.
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ESMA Report Offers A Glimpse At EU's Securitization Future
The European Securities and Markets Authority’s recent overview of the EU securitization sector suggests a growing market for both investors and businesses and offers useful insight into future regulatory priorities, says Alan Bunbury at Matheson.
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What The Auto-Enrollment Law Means For UK Workforce
In a welcome step to enhance retirement savings, the U.K. government is set to extend the automatic enrollment regime by lowering the eligibility age and reducing the lower qualifying earnings limit, but addressing workers' immediate financial needs remains a challenge, says Beth Brown at Arc Pensions.