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Financial Services UK
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July 26, 2024
EU Banks Must Improve Cyberattack Protection, ECB Says
Lenders in the eurozone still suffer from "shortcomings" in fighting against and recovering from a severe — but plausible — cyberattack, the European Central Bank said Friday after it conducted a resilience stress test.
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July 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen U.K. band The 1975 face action by Future Sound Asia after its performance in Malaysia resulted in a festival's cancelation, Spectrum Insurance hit by The Motoring Organization following their dispute over information misuse, and a former police constable pursue defamation against a colleague for allegedly instigating a campaign of harassment against her. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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July 26, 2024
Consultant Claims $2M From Port Co. For Unpaid Fees
A Swiss business consultancy has claimed that an English port operator owes it more than $2 million in unpaid fixed and variable fees it alleged were tied to shareholder dividends of which it was not informed.
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July 26, 2024
Fraudster Sentenced For Instagram Motor Insurance Scam
A man who made almost £18,000 by operating as a "ghost broker" and selling invalid car insurance policies on Instagram has been handed a suspended prison sentence of 24 months at a London court, City Police has said.
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July 26, 2024
NatWest To Buy £2.5B Mortgage Portfolio From Metro Bank
NatWest will acquire a £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) portfolio of U.K. residential mortgages from Metro Bank as it seeks to expand its retail book without taking on unnecessary risk, the lenders said on Friday.
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July 25, 2024
Natwest Seeks €155M Swap Funds From Dutch Mortgage Co.
NatWest's investment banking arm, which alleges a Dutch financial services company owes it €155 million ($168.3 million) under deeds in swaps transactions, argued at the opening of a London trial Thursday that the company wrongly relied on contractual terms to delay payment.
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July 25, 2024
Audit Watchdog Sanctioned Firms £48M Last Year
The Financial Reporting Council revealed Thursday that it fined firms a total of £48.2 million ($62 million) in the financial year ended March 31, including a £21 million fine against auditor KPMG related to its accounting for construction giant Carillion prior to its collapse in 2018.
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July 25, 2024
Hayes Can Appeal Rate Rigging Conviction At Top UK Court
Two traders convicted of manipulating benchmark interest rates have been granted permission to appeal their cases to the U.K.'s highest court, their representatives said on Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
Plan To Return WealthTek Clients' Money Gets Green Light
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday that the High Court has approved a plan by the joint special administrators of collapsed regulated wealth manager WealthTek LLP to return money and investments it held for clients.
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July 25, 2024
Labour Gov't Faces 'Tricky Balancing Act' On Policy Priorities
The Labour government faces a "tricky balancing act" in implementing policies that meet the financial needs of different generations, pensions provider Aegon said Thursday,
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July 25, 2024
4 Banks Ordered To Comply With UK Retail Competition Rules
HSBC, Lloyds, TSB and Allied Irish Banks have broken rules designed to help customers find the best deals, Britain's antitrust authority said Thursday, adding that it has ordered the lenders to comply with competition regulation.
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July 25, 2024
Belgium Taken To EU Court Over Deposit Exemption Rules
The European Union's executive branch said Thursday that it is taking Belgium to court alleging that the country's system of exempting remuneration of savings deposits from tax violates EU law.
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July 25, 2024
FCA Consumer Duty Deadline May Spark Clash With UK Gov't
The new Labour government and the Financial Conduct Authority could be heading for a clash over what constitutes a vulnerable consumer and how the laws protecting them from abuse should be enforced.
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July 25, 2024
Coinbase Unit Fined £3.5M For Crypto-Related Breaches
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday it has fined a payments company £3.5 million ($4.5 million) for "repeatedly breaching" restrictions against enabling crypto-asset trading, the first time the watchdog has taken enforcement action under regulations governing electronic money.
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July 25, 2024
Revolut Gets UK Banking License To Permit Expansion
An online banking subsidiary of Revolut Group Holdings Ltd. has been granted a U.K. banking license, allowing it to expand its financial services and potentially offer customers in Britain traditional banking products such as loans and savings accounts, the lender said Thursday.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-Barclays CEO Told To Testify In Appeal Of Qatar Fees Fine
Former Barclays CEO John Varley was ordered by a London tribunal Wednesday to give evidence in the bank's appeal against a £50 million ($64.6 million) fine over its emergency fundraising with Qatar during the 2008 financial crash.
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July 24, 2024
EU Trade Body Warns Against FCA Enforcement Plans
A trade body for European financial firms has warned that the Financial Conduct Authority's proposed naming of companies in enforcement investigations would make the U.K. an international outlier, damaging competitiveness.
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July 24, 2024
Cuban Bank Denies Transferring €72M Debt To Offshore Fund
Cuba's former central bank told an English appeals court Wednesday that an offshore fund cannot sue it over €72 million ($78.2 million) of unpaid sovereign debt, because it did not consent to the assignment of the debt to the fund.
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July 24, 2024
Asset Recovery Firms Deny Profit-Stripping Rule Is Too Harsh
Two asset recovery companies told Britain's top court Wednesday that a law to strip profits from people who quit jobs to chase the business of a former employer is not "too harsh," in a case with potentially wide implications for "bad-faith resignations."
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July 24, 2024
Russia Sanctions Enforcement Lacks Bite, UK Charity Says
Britain must develop a clearer sanctions enforcement strategy, an anti-corruption charity said on Wednesday, as it revealed that the government has issued no fines for breaches of rules since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than two years ago.
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July 24, 2024
UniCredit To Buy Vodeno, Aion Bank For €370M
Italy's UniCredit said Wednesday that it will buy cloud-based digital banking services provider Vodeno and online bank Aion for approximately €370 million ($401 million) in total as a foray into new financial technology.
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July 24, 2024
UK Bans 830 Directors For COVID Loan Abuse In 12 Months
Hundreds of company directors have been banned in the last year as a result of COVID loan abuse, the Insolvency Service said Wednesday, adding that it has recovered almost £3 million ($3.8 million) of taxpayers' money.
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July 24, 2024
British Steel Pension Redress Scheme Pays Out £8.7M
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that its redress program for steelworkers given poor pensions advice has paid out a total of just £8.7 million ($11.2 million) in compensation.
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July 24, 2024
Can New Pensions Minister 'Serve Two Masters'?
A new British pensions minister with a foot in two competing government departments could help create a more coherent pensions reforms, although some analysts warn of a potential Treasury takeover of pensions policy to prioritize economic stimulus.
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July 23, 2024
FCA Confirms Plan To Protect Access To Cash
The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed plans on Tuesday to secure adequate access to cash for businesses and consumers, rules that will come into force in September.
Expert Analysis
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Exploring The EU's Draft Standards On Crypto Authorization
The European Securities and Markets Authority’s recently published draft standards aim to promote fair competition and a safer environment for crypto providers and investors, detailing precisely the information to be provided to national authorities in charge of screening the acquisitions of a qualifying holding, says Mathieu de Korvin at Norton Rose.
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How FCA Guidance Aligns With Global Cyberattack Measures
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent guidance on preparing for cyberattacks aligns with the global move by financial regulators to focus on operational resilience, highlighting the importance of proactive strategies and robust resilience frameworks to mitigate disruptions, while observing a disappointing level of engagement by the industry, say Alix Prentice and Grace Ncube at Cadwalader.
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Takeaways From Regulators' £61.6M Citigroup Trading Fine
Following the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority’s recent significant fining of Citigroup for its catastrophic trading error, and with more enforcement likely, institutions should update their controls and ensure system warnings do not become routine and therefore disregarded, says Abdulali Jiwaji at Signature Litigation.
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Factors For London Cos. To Consider If Adding US Listings
Recent reports of a continuing valuation gap between London and New York have resulted in some London-listed companies considering U.S. listings to gain an increased investor base, but with various obligations and implications involved in such a move, organizations should consider whether there is a real benefit from trading there, say lawyers at Winston & Strawn.
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Assessing The Energy Act 2023, Eight Months On
Although much of the detail required to fully implement the Energy Act 2023 remains to be finalized, the scale of change in the energy sector is unprecedented, and with the U.K. prioritizing achieving net-zero, it is likely that developments will continue at pace, say lawyers at Paul Hastings.
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Opinion
Why Timing Makes UK Libor Judgments Controversial
The recent U.K. Court of Appeal decision in the R v. Hayes and Palombo appeal against Libor convictions demonstrates that had U.K. regulators probed with the facts known today, civil claims in all jurisdictions would be dismissed and a decadelong wasted investigation should be put to rest, says Charles Kuhn at Clyde & Co.
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Tips For Orgs Using NDAs In Light Of New UK Legislation
The recent passage of the Victims and Prisoners Act follows a crackdown on the misuse of nondisclosure agreements, but although NDAs are not prohibited and regulators recognize their legitimate justification, organizations relying on them must be able to clearly explain that justification if challenged, say attorneys at Macfarlanes.
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What Alternative Fuel Proposals Mean For EU Infrastructure
The European Union’s proposed Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility, covering activities in the transport sectors supporting the decarbonization process, sets ambitious standards regarding the deployment of adequate supply infrastructure and offers new funding opportunities for port operators and shipowners, says Christian Bauer at Watson Farley.
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Continuation Funds: What You Need To Know
As the continuation fund market matures, the structure and terms of these transactions have become increasingly complex, presenting challenges that should be carefully navigated by participants to ensure a successful transaction process, say lawyers at Skadden.
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EU Anti-Greenwashing Guide Analyzed For Fund Managers
Anna Maleva-Otto and Matthew Dow at Schulte Roth explain how the European Securities and Markets Authority’s new guidelines on sustainability-related terms in fund names aim to protect European Union investors from unsubstantiated claims, and how they provide quantifiable criteria for determining which terms can be used to promote their funds.
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FCA 'Finfluencer' Trial Exposes Social Media Promo Risks
The upcoming Financial Conduct Authority prosecution of nine individuals for Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 violations is the first time an online influencer will be tried for using social media to promote investments, demonstrating the need to be wary of the specific legal requirements surrounding financial product promotion, says David Claxton at Red Lion.
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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.