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Financial Services UK
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July 30, 2024
Pension Firms Meeting Equity Investment Goals, Insurers Say
Pension firms that signed up to an agreement to allocate a minimum of 5% of defined contribution funds to unlisted equities by 2030 have laid "strong foundations" in line with the target, British insurers said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
UK Crypto Biz To Raise £6.5M Via Private Share Placing
Argo Blockchain PLC said on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell shares worth approximately £6.5 million ($8.4 million) to an institutional investor, which the cryptocurrency miner will use to finance general working capital and pay back debt.
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July 29, 2024
Crypto Investors Get Provisional OK For £9B Binance Claim
Binance Holdings Ltd. must face a £9 billion ($11.5 billion) proposed class action brought by investors after a tribunal dismissed the cryptocurrency exchange's bid to strike out the claim, finding the evidence "just about" shows the case has a realistic chance of success.
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July 29, 2024
Gov't Consults On Tax Hikes For Fund Managers, Non-Doms
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Monday that an autumn Budget planned for Oct. 30 will include feature selected tax rises, a warning accompanied by strong hints from HM Treasury that fund managers and non-domicile taxpayers could take a bigger hit.
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July 29, 2024
NFT Game Collaborator Says She Was IP Co-Owner
A cryptocurrency expert has said that her former business partner has improperly accused her of stealing confidential business information for an NFT-winning game they co-developed, despite having proof that she had not shared anything with his competitors.
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July 29, 2024
Marketer Told She Had Baby 'At The Wrong Time' Wants £30K
A marketer for an international accountancy accreditation body asked a tribunal on Monday to order her employer to pay her £30,000 ($38,500) for injury to her feelings after her boss told her that she "had a baby at the wrong time."
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August 05, 2024
Morgan Lewis Adds Investment Pro From Paul Hastings
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has hired a seasoned expert in private equity secondary markets as a partner in London, as the firm moves to consolidate its presence as a major player in the sector.
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July 29, 2024
New Defined Benefit Funding Code Laid Before Parliament
Britain's pensions watchdog on Monday said its long-awaited funding code for defined benefit retirement savings plans has been laid before Parliament, marking what it called a "significant step."
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July 29, 2024
Top Corporate Crime Cases To Watch For The Rest Of 2024
The Serious Fraud Office's intention to charge individuals with bribery over Glencore's dealings in Nigeria, a major bitcoin money laundering trial and the ongoing legal battles between ENRC and the SFO are some of the major white-collar crime cases on the horizon.
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July 29, 2024
Zurich Invests $60M In Cyber Insurance Provider For SMEs
Swiss insurance giant Zurich has invested $60 million in Cowbell, a provider of cyberinsurance for small businesses, the digital risk company said, amid growing industry concerns over cyberthreats.
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July 29, 2024
FCA Weighs Taking Protection From Some Insurance Clients
The Financial Conduct Authority proposed on Monday a change to the criteria of classifying a small business as a commercial insurance client by removing consumer protection rules from some firms when they buy insurance products.
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July 29, 2024
NCA Seizes Assets As Russian Oligarch Ends Sanctions Fight
The National Crime Agency seized more than £768,000 ($986,000) belonging to Russian oligarch Petr Aven on Monday after reaching a settlement in its first attempt to recover frozen assets linked to suspected sanctions evasion since sweeping restrictions came into force.
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July 29, 2024
Mozambique Claims Victory In UK Tuna Bond Scandal Case
Mozambique largely won its mammoth corruption claim against a shipbuilding company on Monday over a bribery scheme used to pay kickbacks to public officials to tie it into a financing package for a tuna fishing fleet that wrecked the southern African country's economy.
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July 26, 2024
UK Gov't Denies Leaked Greensill Probe Caused Him Harm
The Insolvency Service leaked private details of an investigation into Lex Greensill, the founder of collapsed finance company Greensill Capital, to the national press, the government has admitted in court filings — but denied it caused him any harm.
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July 26, 2024
NCA Data Project Set To Catch Financial Criminals
The National Crime Agency and seven U.K. banks have forged a major public-private partnership to use account data to help catch financial criminals and prevent fraud and money laundering, the agency said Friday.
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August 02, 2024
Fieldfisher Adds Banking Litigation Pro From Hausfeld
Fieldfisher LLP has hired "the perfect" banking and finance litigation expert as a partner in its London office, as the firm moves to strengthen its financial practice both in the U.K. and abroad.
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July 26, 2024
Valderrama Golf Course Owner Heir Blocked From Sale Profits
The heir to the former owner of the Valderrama golf course in Spain lost his fight Friday for a slice of a €39.1 million ($42.5 million) sale as an appellate court rejected his interpretation of a profit-sharing agreement.
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July 26, 2024
FCA To Overhaul Prospectus Rules To Boost Capital Markets
The Financial Conduct Authority set out plans to shake up the U.K.'s prospectus regime Friday, including new rules for public offers and risk disclosures, to help boost the country's ailing capital markets.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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4 Compliance Considerations Under FCA Consumer Duty
Following the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent introduction of the new consumer duty regime, firms will need to be mindful of data protection implications when managing their compliance with the duty and data protection legislation, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.
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What Could Come Of CFPB, EU Consumer Finance Collab
A recent joint statement from the European Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau focused on how technology is affecting consumers of financial services, potentially recognizing that legal protections are lacking because tech regulations lag behind its development, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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6 Key Factors For Successful Cross-Border Dispute Mediation
The European landscape of cross-border disputes diverges markedly from the U.S. experience and presents unique challenges, including the amalgamation of diverse cultures and legal systems, but there are several practical steps that practitioners can take to effectively navigate the process, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.
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Operational Resilience Considerations In Financial Services
A recent letter from the Financial Conduct Authority reminds CEOs of U.K. wholesale banks of their role in the safety and soundness of markets, but all firms can draw lessons and consider their own operational resilience for longer-term security and commercial benefit, says Richard Tall at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Tech Cases Warn Of Liability Clause Drafting Pitfalls
The recent U.K. High Court cases Drax Energy Solutions v. Wipro and EE v. Virgin Mobile Telecoms indicate a more literal judicial approach to construing limitations of liability, even when this significantly limits a claimant's recoverable damages, highlighting the importance of carefully drafted liability provisions, say Helen Armstrong and Tania Williams at RPC.
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How The UK Investment Screening Regime Is Taking Shape
A recent order imposing remedies on an acquisition by EDF Energy highlights emerging trends in the U.K. government's national security reviews of transactions under the U.K. National Security and Investment Act, and shows how the U.K. remedy landscape compares to the U.S. regime, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.
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Consultations Underpin Mandatory Fraud Victim Repayment
The U.K. Payment Systems Regulator’s recent consultations on authorized push payment fraud reinforce its June policy expectation, which said that unless there is evidence of gross negligence and the consumer standard of caution has not been followed, providers must reimburse fraud victims, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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Swiss Privacy Law Reforms Present Divergences From GDPR
The differences between Switzerland’s recently reformed Federal Act on Data Protection and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, particularly around data breach reporting and the liability of company officers, will need to be carefully managed by multinationals that may have competing obligations under different laws, say Kim Roberts and Vanessa Alarcon Duvanel at King & Spalding.
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New Legislation May Not Be Needed For Recovery Of Crypto
The recent seizure of cryptocurrency under a civil recovery order raises the issue of whether extended powers under the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill are necessary, with the ability to seize crypto-related items that may be the subject of a search order more likely to be of assistance, says Nicola McKinney at Quillon Law.
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Opinion
Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy
The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.
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German Competition Law May Herald New Enforcement Trend
The recent amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition is expected to significantly expand the powers of the German Federal Cartel Office, and could signal a global trend toward greater direct intervention by national competition authorities and political interference in competition law, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
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New Financial Services Act Leaves Few Firms Untouched
The recently published Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which replaces retained EU law with U.K. legislation, is one of the most significant pieces of post-Brexit regulation, with key practical implications for actors such as investment firms and crypto-asset and payment service providers, say Tim Cant, Emma Tran and Bisola Williams at Ashurst.
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FCA 'De-Banking' Clampdown May Need Gov't Backing
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent clampdown on unfair bank account closures will give customers greater transparency, but with terms usually skewed in the bank’s favor, it is a policy matter for the government to enact further protections for businesses and consumers, say Stephen Rosen and Jean-Martin Louw at Collyer Bristow.
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UK Securitization Reform Opts For Modest Approach, For Now
Recently published consultation papers from the U.K. Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct Authorities on new securitization rules mainly restate retained EU law, but there are some targeted adjustments being proposed and further divergence is to be expected, say Alix Prentice and Assia Damianova at Cadwalader.
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Examining PayPal's Venture Into The Stablecoin Market
PayPal’s recent release of a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar may represent a groundbreaking innovation or could fail as others have before it, and policymakers in the U.K. and the EU will be watching the impact of this new crypto token with a keen eye, say Ben Lee and Dion Seymour at Andersen.