Financial Services UK

Southend Court House in Southend-on-Sea, Essex

Traders' Win Casts Doubt On Plans For No-Jury Fraud Trials

Repeated failure by the courts to ensure that two former traders imprisoned for rigging benchmark interest rates were given a fair trial has fueled criticism of radical reforms to roll back jury trials in complex fraud cases to ease pressure on the judicial system.

Hayes' Victory Leaves SFO Rate Rigging Convictions In Doubt

The decision by the U.K. Supreme Court to quash the convictions of two former traders accused of manipulating interest rates has opened the door for other bankers to challenge the fairness of their trials, lawyers say.

One-pound and two-pound coins on a wooden table interspersed with a tape showing consecutive years.

Gov't Misses Chance To Go Big With New Pensions Body

The government launched a once-in-a-generation review of retirement savings on Monday, but experts warned that the new Pension Commission is a missed opportunity to take a no-holds-barred approach to tackle the savings crisis.

Criminal Background Check Application Form

Senior Managers Regime Revamp Risks Letting In Bad Apples

The City watchdog's planned overhaul of its senior managers regime risks allowing people with records of misconduct to slip into financial firms because of the relaxation of rules on references and criminal checks, according to lawyers.

July 28, 2025
Fraud Claims 'Smaller Slice' As Crypto Litigation Booms

As litigation involving cryptocurrency significantly increases, fraud cases represent a lesser share of the total number of crypto disputes, according to a report published Monday by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.
July 28, 2025
Investment Firm Beats Ex-Risk Chief's Long COVID Bias Claim

An asset management firm did not discriminate against its former risk chief based on his long COVID when it required him to interview for a new post after eliminating his old job, a tribunal has ruled.
July 28, 2025
FCA Flags AI Risks In Benchmark Administrators' Controls

The City watchdog warned Monday that administrators of companies that set benchmarks lack consistency in how they manage data, saying there was inadequate evidence that their controls are evolving to cover risks from new technology such as AI.
July 28, 2025
Citigroup Defends $16M VTB Russian Securities Sale Losses

Citigroup has denied claims that it caused a VTB Bank subsidiary to lose almost $16 million by taking an irrational approach to liquidating securities after the Russian lender defaulted on a demand for collateral amid market volatility following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
July 28, 2025
UK Man Denies Making Crypto Transfers To Russian Militias

A British-Russian national who allegedly funded pro-Russian militia groups in occupied eastern Ukraine through bitcoin payments on Monday denied breaching the U.K. sanctions regime.
July 28, 2025
Investment Boss Told To Pay Back £170K From £37M Fraud

A director of an ethical investment scheme imprisoned for defrauding investors out of £37 million ($50 million) was ordered by a court on Monday to pay back £170,000 or have two years added to his sentence.
July 28, 2025
Dentons-Led Bermuda Investment Biz Signs £900M Merger

Bermudian Investor Hansa said Monday that local rival Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. has agreed to accept its all-stock merger offer that will create a company with total net assets of more than £900 million ($1.2 billion).
July 28, 2025
Veteran Banker Named Interim Chair Of Financial Ombudsman

The City watchdog said Monday that it has appointed Liam Coleman as interim chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service, following a long career in banking and the public sector.
July 28, 2025
Britons Fear Impact Of Inheritance Tax Change On Pensions

Four out of 10 people in Britain are concerned about the government's decision to bring pensions within the scope of inheritance tax, according to a survey by a consultancy on Monday.
July 28, 2025
SocGen Settles €140M Clifford Chance Negligence Claim

Société Générale SA and Clifford Chance LLP have settled their €140 million ($163.3 million) dispute over the bank's allegations that the law firm gave negligent advice that caused its claim in a multimillion-dollar dispute over gold bullion to be struck out as an abuse of process.
July 27, 2025
Suspected Trading Scam 'Mastermind' Can't Block Extradition

An Israeli accused of being the "mastermind" behind call centers that allegedly scammed investors out of €14 million ($16 million) by posing as trading platform employees lost a bid on Friday to block his extradition to Germany from the U.K.
July 25, 2025
Switzerland Faces $5B Claim After Credit Suisse Collapse

Switzerland is facing another claim arising from the 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse and the write-down of some $17 billion worth of Additional Tier 1 bonds, as global law firm Holman Fenwick Willan LLP announced its intention to file a $5 billion investor-state claim against the country on behalf of a "substantial group" of bondholders.
July 25, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the owner of a £6 million ($8 million) mansion once rented by Adele sue real estate consultants Strutt & Parker, Romanian-Australian mining investor Vasile Frank Timis bring a claim against reputation and privacy firm Schillings, and a Chinese businessman bring a legal action against his former lawyer over an alleged £12.5 million mortgage fraud.
July 25, 2025
FCA Fines Former H2O Exec £1M And Bars Him From Industry

The U.K.'s financial watchdog said Friday that it has banned a former senior executive of asset manager H2O from the financial industry and fined him £1.05 million ($1.41 million) for misleading the regulator about risky investments linked to financier Lars Windhorst.
July 25, 2025
Research Co Scientist Loses Anonymity Bid In Data Theft Case

A data scientist at a finance research firm accused of stealing his employer's trade secrets before resigning to work for a competitor failed Friday to keep his identity secret until the start of the trial.
July 25, 2025
'Disconnect' Between Pension And Savings, Broadstone Says

Britons aged between 40 and 75 who are yet to fully retire face a gap of more than £18,000 ($24,000) per year between their state pension and the income they hope to live on, actuarial consultant Broadstone said Friday.
July 25, 2025
Pensions Watchdog Wants Dashboards Data Improvements

Too many pension schemes do not have enough high quality, recent or digital data as the retirement savings industry edges towards the launch of the long-awaited dashboards programme, the top regulator has said.
July 25, 2025
Bahraini Bank Worker Loses Whistleblowing Case Over Delay

A short-lived employee of a Bahraini bank has lost his bid to sue his former employer, as a London tribunal ruled he waited too long to bring his claim he was fired for whistleblowing.
July 25, 2025
Odey's Libel Claim And Sex Assault Case To Have Joint Trial

Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey's £79 million ($106.2 million) libel claim against the Financial Times will be tried jointly with claims by five women accusing him of sexual abuse, a London judge ruled Friday.
July 25, 2025
Gov't Warned That Pension Bill Excludes Investment Cos.

A trade body for investment companies said Friday it had urged the government to amend the Pension Schemes Bill so that its power to require pensions to invest in private assets will allow this through investment companies.
July 25, 2025
Ruling Puts Dexia's €400M Row With Torino In English Courts

A judge ruled Friday that England has exclusive jurisdiction to hear a €400 million ($469 million) dispute over the validity of transactions Dexia SA inked with Comune di Torino in Italy to restructure the municipal government's debts.
July 25, 2025
AXA Wins £675M Missold PPI Payout Fight With Santander

AXA has won a £675 million ($907 million) battle with Santander to recover payouts for wrongly sold payment protection insurance as a London court ruled that the Spanish banking giant was liable for "systemic failings" in historical sales of the policy.
July 25, 2025
Slaughter And May-Led Close Brothers To Sell Unit For £104M

British merchant banking group Close Brothers said Friday that it has agreed to sell its subsidiary Winterflood Securities to Marex Group PLC for approximately £103.9 million ($139.7 million) to simplify its portfolio and focus on its core lending business.
July 25, 2025
MoD Official Named As New Companies House CEO

Senior Ministry of Defence official Andy King has been appointed as chief executive of Britain's official business registrar as it seeks to toughen its stance on financial crime.
July 25, 2025
UK Prospectus Changes Merely Shifting Diligence Burden

Listed companies will no longer be forced in 2026 to publish demanding documents during most secondary fundraising drives under updated prospectus rules, but lawyers warn this might simply mean that businesses spend more time and money on diligence when they make other disclosures.

Editor's Picks

5 Questions For Spencer West Partner Karl Foster

The Financial Conduct Authority's approach to enforcement and consumer protection has come up against government economic growth priorities and resistance from the sector to its proposals to "name and shame" companies early on during regulatory probes.
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.

Expert Analysis

What To Expect As FCA Preps To Launch AI Testing Service

The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming artificial intelligence live testing service will provide participants with access to appropriate regulatory expertise, but to gauge the tool’s potential utility, it is important to understand how it fits in with what the regulator is already doing, says Omar Salem at Fox Williams.
New Interpol Silver Notice Could Be Tool For Justice Or Abuse

Interpol has issued dozens of Silver Notices to trace and recover assets linked to criminal activity since January, and though the tool may disrupt organized crime and terrorist financing, attorneys must protect against the potential for corrupt misuse, say attorneys at Clark Hill and Arktouros.
Weighing PE Transaction Risks As EU AI Act Rolls Out

As the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act becomes effective in stages, legal practitioners involved in private equity deals should consider the transactional risks resulting from this measure, including penalties, extraterritorial reach and target-firm applicability, say lawyers at Covington.
EU Banking Watchdog Regulations Herald New AML Era

The European Banking Authority’s forthcoming anti-money laundering package will set a framework for compliance across the European Union by redefining the rules of engagement between financial institutions and supervisors, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies

While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
What Insurers Can Do To Prepare For PRA 'Solvent Exit' Rules

With less than a year until the Prudential Regulation Authority's new solvent exit rules for insurers come into force, it is critical that firms prepare to meet the imminent deadline by outlining an execution plan and establishing clear governance arrangements, say lawyers at Holman Fenwick.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: UK Injunctions Across Borders

A recent High Court of Justice decision allowing JPMorgan Chase Bank to block VTB Bank from bringing suit in a Russian court provides a seminal reflection on the power of English courts to issue antisuit injunctions when global banking disputes increasingly straddle multiple jurisdictions, says Josep Galvez of 4-5 Gray's Inn.
Identifying Data Center Investment Challenges, Opportunities

The role of data centers is expanding, as are new opportunities for private capital investors, but there are issues to consider, including finance models and contract complexity, as well as power supply, cyber threat resilience and data sovereignty, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
What EU Bank Regulator's Letter Means For Crypto Providers

A recent letter from the European Banking Authority notes a need to avoid dual authorization for e-money token transactions under European Union payment services and cryptocurrency regulations, which could result in a high regulatory burden for crypto-asset service providers and leaves open questions for future political negotiations, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
How Regulators Want Online Platforms To Fight Finance Fraud

Recent statements from the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the European Securities and Markets Authority make clear that online platform providers are expected to adopt proactive measures to prevent the promotion of unauthorized financial services and related misconduct, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
FCA Notes Industry Criticism But Keeps Transparency Focus

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated enforcement guide finally gives up the "naming and shaming" public interest test, demonstrating that the regulator has recognized the industry's serious concerns while maintaining less contentious aspects of its proposals to improve transparency in investigations, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.
Anticipating A Shift In CMA Merger Control Enforcement

As the Competition and Markets Authority outlines plans to put the U.K. government's growth objectives into action, the changes may well pave the way for a more permissive outlook for review of mergers and acquisitions in the U.K., say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
Court Backing Of FCA Pensions Ruling Sends Key Message

The Upper Tribunal’s recent upholding of the Financial Conduct Authority's decisions against CFP Management directors serves as a judicial endorsement of the regulator’s approach to defined benefit transfers, underscoring that where the advisory model is fundamentally flawed, the consequences for those in control can be severe, say lawyers at RPC.
Saxon Woods Ruling Tightens Rules On Director Good Faith

The recent Court of Appeal judgment in Saxon Woods v. Costa departs from the High Court's ruling, clarifying that a director's sincere belief they have acted in the company’s best interests is not sufficient to satisfy the statutory requirement to act in good faith, say lawyers at Covington.
Key Points From HMRC's Tax Reform Proposals

Although HM Revenue & Customs’ recent proposals for reform of U.K. transfer pricing and permanent establishment rules align with the latest international consensus, certain amendments may lead to future controversy, say lawyers at Skadden.