Financial Services UK

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Experts See Risks In FCA's Soft-Touch Response To AI

The Financial Conduct Authority has so far failed to detail its rules on artificial intelligence and is moving toward a reliance on companies to self-report, putting it at risk of deferring excessively to the sector it regulates, legal experts say.
November 25, 2024
'Knight' Can't Lift Freeze On Woodland Mansion, Supercar

A self-styled knight convicted of fraud failed to get a freezing order lifted against £1.1 million ($1.4 million) of his assets as a London court ruled on Monday that the civil recovery proceedings do not unfairly relitigate criminal confiscation efforts.
November 25, 2024
Odey Can't View Medical Records Of Sexual Assault Accusers

Crispin Odey failed on Monday to gain access to the medical records of five women who accuse him of sexual abuse, after a judge weighed in favor of the alleged victims' right to privacy.
November 25, 2024
MPs Raise 'Deep-Rooted' Problems At FCA In Critical Report

A report by a cross-party group of MPs will highlight the failures in the way the Financial Conduct Authority handles major scandals, despite its efforts to reform its culture and operations, according to advance details released Monday.
November 25, 2024
Italy's UniCredit Makes €10B Offer For Rival Banco BPM

UniCredit SpA said Monday that it has offered to buy rival Italian lender Banco BPM SpA for €10 billion ($10.5 billion) in an all-share deal, with the aim of creating a pan-European banking giant.
November 25, 2024
DLA, Mayer Brown Steer £1.7B Pension Deal For National Grid

The U.K.'s largest utilities provider has offloaded £1.7 billion ($2.1 billion) of its pension liabilities to Aviva PLC, the insurer said Monday, in a deal guided by DLA Piper UK LLP and Mayer Brown International LLP.
November 25, 2024
FCA Rewrites Disclosure Rules, Handing Suspects The Reins

Changes to disclosure rules at the Financial Conduct Authority will give defendants more insight into its investigations than ever before — though the development might swamp those that cannot afford top legal advisers, lawyers say.
November 25, 2024
Barclays Fined £40M For Failing To Disclose Qatari Deals

Barclays has been fined £40 million ($50.2 million) for the "reckless" arrangements the bank made with Qatari investors when it was raising fresh capital during the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Conduct Authority said Monday.
November 22, 2024
Simpson Thacher Hires Finance Pro From Linklaters

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has recruited a newly promoted banking partner at Linklaters LLP to continue building its finance offering in London.
November 22, 2024
Teacher Stern Cleared Of Rules Breach Over Client Payments

Teacher Stern LLP and two partners were cleared by a London disciplinary tribunal on Friday of breaching legal accounting rules and ethical regulations by allowing clients to transfer money that was not related to an underlying legal transaction or service.
November 22, 2024
Fraud Victim Can't Revive Duty Claim Against NatWest

A fraud victim failed Friday to revive its claim against National Westminster Bank PLC for not stopping more than £420,000 ($526,000) in payments to the scammers' bank account, after a London judge ruled the company did not have a reasonable chance of overturning the dismissal.
November 22, 2024
Paragon Auditor Denied Interim Pay In Whistleblowing Claim

An internal auditor at Paragon Bank has lost his bid for interim pay in his whistleblowing claims against the property finance lender as an appeals tribunal found he would struggle to prove that this was the reason he was sacked.
November 22, 2024
Imprisoned Oligarch Asks UK Court To Hear Conspiracy Claim

Lawyers for an oligarch imprisoned in Russia told a London court Friday that he was entitled to pursue litigation against pipeline giant Transneft in England, rather than Russia as the company wants, because a "not insignificant" proportion of the damage in the case was incurred in England.
November 22, 2024
Spain Raises Bank Windfall Levy, Enacts Minimum Tax

The Spanish government is set to increase its windfall tax on banks with more than €5 billion ($5.2 billion) in income as well as implement a minimum corporate tax on multinational companies following a vote by lawmakers.
November 22, 2024
MPs To Probe UK Pensioner Poverty Amid Rising Costs

A cross-party parliamentary committee on Friday launched an inquiry into pensioner poverty in the U.K., seeking views on which measures have been most effective in addressing the cost of living for retirees.
November 22, 2024
Putin Ally's In-law Charged With Paying Nephew's School Fees

The brother-in-law of a former Russian politician faces new criminal charges for allegedly breaching sanctions after U.K. authorities accused him of paying for the children of an alleged ally of Vladimir Putin to attend a private school, a court heard Friday.
November 22, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen cash-strapped Thurrock Borough Council bring a £40 million ($50 million) negligence claim against 23 other local authorities over its solar investments from a not-for-profit local government body, AstraZeneca sue a fire safety company following a blaze at its Cambridge headquarters last year, and a director who was convicted in 2016 for corporate manslaughter face action by Manolete Partners. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
November 22, 2024
EU Finance Body Says Climate Disclosure Rules Too Detailed

A trade body for European financial institutions has warned an international accounting standard-setter that its proposed climate-related disclosures for financial statements are too detailed, imposing compliance expectations beyond existing accounting standards.
November 22, 2024
HCR Legal Leads Tavistock In Up-To-£18M Asset Manager Buy

Financial services group Tavistock said Friday that it has agreed to buy asset manager Alpha Beta Partners for up to £18 million ($22.5 million) as the British company seeks to expand in the U.K. retail investment market.
November 21, 2024
Dashboard Project Updates Pension Scheme Reporting Rules

Pension providers and schemes will face less onerous reporting requirements during the initial connection phase to the long-awaited dashboards project under changes announced by the program's coordinator Thursday.
November 21, 2024
UAE Bank Loses Suit Accusing Family Of Evading £19M Debt

A UAE bank has lost its claim against a businessman's family over an alleged £19 million ($24 million) debt, after a London judge ruled Thursday that the lender failed to prove that the businessman had intentionally moved assets to keep them out of the hands of his creditors.
November 21, 2024
EU Watchdogs Set Rules On Sharing Staff Fitness Reports

European Union regulators have set out guidelines for their new information exchange system to help national regulators assess the suitability of senior managers for key roles in financial services.
November 21, 2024
FCA Weighing Wider Impact Of Motor Finance Ruling

The Financial Conduct Authority said it is considering issuing guidance amid growing legal uncertainty over commission arrangements following a bombshell court ruling on motor finance.
November 21, 2024
UK Sanctions Angola's Dos Santos, Others For Looting Nations

The British government hit three kleptocrats, including Africa's richest women, and their associates with sanctions and travel bans on Thursday, saying that they siphoned millions of pounds from their countries and concealed their illegal assets in the U.K.
November 21, 2024
Freshfields Helps PE Firm Cinven Invest In Grant Thornton UK

Private equity firm Cinven said Thursday that it plans to buy a majority stake in "big six" accountant Grant Thornton UK in a move to capitalize on the resilient professional services and advisory sector.
November 20, 2024
White & Case, Goodwin Tap A&O Shearman For Pros

White & Case announced Wednesday it has recruited a senior corporate partner from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling in London, while Goodwin Procter said it has hired an investment funds specialist from the Magic Circle firm as a partner in its Luxembourg office.

Editor's Picks

UK Draft Pay Fraud Rules Open Tricky Legal Liabilities

The government's new draft legislation, which will give banks longer to investigate suspicions of fraud before they send payments instructed by customers, will create a wave of new legal liabilities and lead to regulatory hurdles, according to lawyers.
FCA Fires Warning Shot Over City's Consumer Duty Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority has sent out a fresh warning to financial services companies highlighting how some of them are failing to comply with its Consumer Duty regime. But experts have told Law360 that the expectations are unclear.
5 Questions for Osborne Clarke Partner Nick Price

The Payment Systems Regulator is due to start forcing payment firms to reimburse victims of scams who have been tricked by a fraudster into transferring them money. Here, Law360 talks to Osborne Clarke partner Nick Price about how this new regime could mean uncertainty about compliance.

Expert Analysis

When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records

Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
What UK Security Act Report Indicates For Future Gov't Policy

Following the recent publication of the National Security and Investment Act report on the scrutiny of proposed investments, it will be interesting to see how the act’s powers fit into a government policy that plans to cut regulatory obstacles, while maintaining a hard line on national security, say lawyers at Katten Muchin.
Examining UK And EU Approaches To Sanctions Enforcement

In light of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent £28.9 million fine of Starling Bank for its lax sanctions screening processes, businesses should understand both the U.K.’s and the European Union’s enforcement approaches, the larger sanctions landscape and the importance of cooperation, says Angelika Hellweger at Rahman Ravelli.
Factors Driving EU Competition Policy For The Next 5 Years

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez’s recent nomination as the new European Union commissioner for competition prompts questions about policy and enforcement, with goals to enhance competition in business, implement stronger and faster enforcement, and promote and fund decarbonization likely in her sights during a five-year term, say lawyers at Linklaters.
What UK Procurement Act Delay Will Mean For Stakeholders

The Procurement Act 2023’s delay until February 2025 has sparked debate among contracting authorities and suppliers, and the Labour Party’s preference for a broader reform package demonstrates the challenges involved in implementing legislative changes where there is a change in government, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
How Energy Scheme Is Affecting Large Co. Fund Investment

The latest phase of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme implicates funds with investments in large companies by establishing significant and complex changes to the reporting cycle for mandatory assessments, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
How Companies House Enforcement Powers Are Growing

Companies House's recently increased ability to assess what material is submitted to the U.K. register of companies, and to proportionately enforce where violations have occurred, may require some degree of cultural shift within many companies, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
How New Sanctions Office Will Affect UK Trade Landscape

The recent launch of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will help to create a more comprehensive civil enforcement terrain, but the potential for multiple investigations means businesses should reassess their systems to ensure they do not inadvertently incur civil liability, says Julia Pearce at Robertson Pugh.
FCA Savings Update Focuses On Good Customer Outcomes

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent cash savings update emphasizes its expectations of firms to deliver fair value to consumers by documenting the rationale for actions at each stage, considering customer communications and demonstrating that potential harms are acted upon, say Matt Handfield, Charlotte Rendle and Caroline Hunter-Yeats at Simmons & Simmons.
5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment in UniCredit Bank v. RusChemAlliance, upholding an injunction against a lawsuit that attempted to shift arbitration away from a contractually designated venue, provides helpful guidance on when such injunctions may be available, say attorneys at Fladgate.
FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed changes to payments firms’ safeguarding requirements, with enhanced recordkeeping and fund segregation, seek to bolster existing regulatory provisions, but by introducing a statutory trust concept to cover customers’ assets, represent a set of onerous rules, says Matt Hancock at Greenberg Traurig.
Takeaways From Upcoming Payment Fraud Delay Legislation

Lawyers at Hogan Lovells discuss what to know about new legislation that will allow payment service providers to delay payments when third-party fraud is suspected, and share pointers for providers to consider ahead of the Oct. 30 effective date.
Modernizing UK Trade Settlement Standard: The Road Ahead

Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP consider the rationale and challenges of a potential U.K. trade settlement acceleration, part of an initiative to modernize the financial market infrastructure, and suggest that incorporating distributed ledger technology as a synchronized recording system would facilitate the move.
Analyzing The Implications Of 1st FCA Crypto ATM Crackdown

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent criminal prosecution of Olumide Osunkoya, its first enforcement action against a crypto-asset trading firm's owner, is an unambiguous sign of the regulator’s commitment to actively pursue transgressors, but may be a hindrance to the U.K. crypto industry, says Asim Arshad at Lawrence Stephens.
Draft Merger Control Guidance Allows CMA To Cast Wide Net

The Competition and Markets Authority's recent draft merger control guidance, reflecting the regulator's strengthened powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act, introduces extensive change and potential procedural improvements, specifically concerning reviews of private equity firms, say lawyers at Travers Smith.