Financial Services UK

4 Things To Watch As UK Releases Budget

The U.K.'s Labour government is set to release an autumn budget Wednesday that faces a test of balancing a pledge not to raise working people's taxes with an expected need to boost revenue to meet fiscal rules. Here are four things to watch for as the budget is issued.

Blocks featuring binary code with locks on dark blue background as illustration of blockchain technology.

SFO's Crypto Probe Marks Shift In Tackling Blockchain Fraud

The launch by the Serious Fraud Office of its first cryptocurrency investigation signals an appetite for using new resources to crack down on fraud, part of a wider move by U.K. law enforcement agencies to treat blockchain as a mainstream threat, lawyers say.

Individual cryptocurrency coins on view on a black surface.

How Mishcon Helped Uncover £5.6B Money Laundering Plot

Law360 examines here how a suspicious activity report raised by Mishcon de Reya about a client's attempted transactions served as the catalyst for one of the biggest cryptocurrency seizures in British history.

FCA Oversight Spells Tougher AML Scrutiny For Law Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority's new powers to police lawyers and other professionals could place law firms under a heightened supervisory regime similar to that of banks and other high-risk financial institutions, experts say.

December 03, 2025
Bridgehaven Confirms Irish Insurer Acquisition To Enter EU

British insurance company Bridgehaven said Wednesday it has completed the acquisition of Irish insurer SureStone Insurance DAC, marking what it called an "important step" in its European ambitions.
December 03, 2025
Chubb Sued Over Advice On 'Worthless' Property Investment

A Saudi investor has sued insurer Chubb for around £259,000 ($344,500) to cover a now insolvent conveyancing firm, alleging that the company negligently advised him when he bought "derelict" student accommodation in England that turned out to be "effectively worthless."
December 03, 2025
FCA Brings Forward Date To Tackle Motor Finance Complaints

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday it would end the pause on some complaints about motor finance deals on May 31, two months earlier than it had originally planned.
December 02, 2025
Watchdog Says It Warned UK Treasury Of Budget Leak Risks

The U.K. Office for Budget Responsibility warned senior HM Treasury officials about the risks of leaks of the autumn budget before the document was accidentally revealed early, the watchdog's officials told a parliamentary committee Tuesday.
December 02, 2025
Santander Scores $472M For 3.5% Stake In Polish Unit

Banco Santander SA announced Tuesday it sold 3.5% of equity in its Polish subsidiary, Santander Bank Polska, through an accelerated placement that raised roughly PLN 1.72 billion, or about $472 million.
December 02, 2025
BoE Cuts Bank Capital Requirements To Boost Lending

The Bank of England cut the highest-quality capital requirements for lenders on Tuesday in a move to free up the sector to lend money more easily to consumers and businesses.
December 02, 2025
Nigerian Bank Settles $111M Loan Fight With Engineering Biz

A Nigerian bank has settled its $111 million claim against an engineering business and a guarantor bank, agreeing to a stay in its case that they had refused to pay back a loan it had issued to acquire oil assets.
December 02, 2025
5 Questions For RPC Partner Dan Wyatt

The Financial Conduct Authority has recently warned that banks must do more to stop romance scams in which victims send money to fraudsters who have created false relationships with them — but it's easier said than done.
December 02, 2025
Hogan Lovells Steers Royal London In £55M Annuity Purchase

Insurer Royal London said Tuesday that it has covered £55 million ($73 million) of pension liabilities for a shipping insurance company, in a deal guided by Hogan Lovells and Wedlake Bell.
December 02, 2025
FCA Censures Bookkeepers' Body For AML Oversight Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday it has censured the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers for serious deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering supervision, its first enforcement action against a professional body supervisor.
December 02, 2025
TPT Picks Gowling, LCP To Advise Pension Superfund

TPT named the four firms that will advise its new defined benefit superfund on Tuesday, as the pension plan operator moves toward regulatory assessment.
December 02, 2025
Gallagher Buys UK Pensions Admin Co. First Actuarial

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said Tuesday it has bought pensions company First Actuarial, as the U.S. company seeks to expand its services in the U.K.
December 02, 2025
EU Seizes €25M Laundered Through Crypto-Mixing Service

Authorities have seized more than €25 million ($28 million) in cryptocurrency after dismantling a crypto-mixing service suspected of being used to help criminals launder stolen money, the European Union's law enforcement agency has said.
December 02, 2025
White & Case-Led Activist Blocks Investment Trusts Merger

Investment companies Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust PLC and Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust PLC said Tuesday that activist shareholder Saba Capital Management LP has shut down their proposed merger.
December 01, 2025
Spain, Zimbabwe Urge Top UK Court To Ax Arbitration Awards

Spain and Zimbabwe urged the U.K.'s highest court Monday to throw out a ruling that they could not use state immunity to dodge enforcement of multimillion-dollar arbitration awards, saying they had not explicitly waived immunity in the international agreement.
December 01, 2025
Capita Faces Legal Action Over 2023 Data Breach Failures

Capita faces a London claim on behalf of as many as 6.6 million people over the distress and financial loss caused by a 2023 cyberattack on the outsourcing giant that exposed their personal data.
December 01, 2025
AmTrust Fights Sompo For £59M At Trial Over Legal Funding

AmTrust argued on the first day of trial on Monday that the insurer of two defunct law firms is liable to pay it £59 million ($78 million), in the latest development in the battle of who should cover the costs of a failed litigation-funding scheme.
December 01, 2025
Credit Suisse Charged With Laundering Over Tuna Bond Case

Swiss prosecutors have charged UBS and Credit Suisse over alleged money laundering failures linked to the transfer of almost $7.9 million as part of a corrupt $2 billion scheme to tie Mozambique into loans to finance a tuna fishing fleet.
December 01, 2025
Investor HICL Pulls Out Of £5.3B Infrastructure Biz Merger

HICL Infrastructure and the Renewables Infrastructure Group said Monday that they will not go ahead with their £5.3 billion ($7 billion) planned merger weeks after disclosing plans for the deal.
December 01, 2025
Eversheds Leads Fertilizer Biz On £265M Pension Deals

Savings and investment group M&G PLC said Monday that the U.K. arm of global ammonia manufacturing giant CF Industries has completed two bulk purchase annuities worth a combined £265 million ($350 million).
December 01, 2025
FCA Proposes ESG Ratings Regime To Boost Transparency

The Financial Conduct Authority proposed a regulatory regime for ESG ratings on Monday, a move to improve transparency and handling of conflicts of interest, which would support government ambitions for the U.K. to become a sustainable finance global hub.
December 01, 2025
Partners& Enters Lloyd's Market With Broker Buy

Partners& Ltd. has bought a Lloyd's broker that focuses on property insurance, marking what it called the first step in building its broking business in the specialist marketplace.
November 28, 2025
ECJ Allows Portugal's Tax Checks On Foreign Pension Funds

Portugal could impose stricter requirements on non-resident pension funds that claim a tax exemption when proportionate, despite the European Union's rules on freedom of movement for capital, the bloc's top court has ruled.
November 28, 2025
Financial Analysts' Body Suffers Blow In Fight Over 'CEFA' TM

The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies has lost its bid to register a trademark for "CEFA EFFAS Certified European Financial Analyst" as a European court ruled that examiners had correctly found it was too similar to an existing sign.
November 28, 2025
Private Prosecutors Eye Victims' Assets Amid SFO Probe

Lawyers and a fintech claims manager said Friday that they have begun efforts to help victims of an alleged $28 million fraud recover their money after a fraud-enforcement agency opened a criminal investigation into the "crypto hedge fund" scheme.

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

Why EU's FDI Screening Proposals Require Careful Balance

The European Commission’s proposals to harmonize EU foreign direct investment screening regimes at the member state level require a trilogue between the commission, Parliament and council, which means political tensions need to be resolved in order to reach agreement on the five key reforms, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.
OFSI Proposals Signal Greater Focus On Enforcement Activity

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s proposed financial sanctions reforms, with risks of higher penalties and more stringent disclosure requirements for U.K. banks and companies, reflect the agency’s evolution into a more sophisticated and robust enforcement regulator, says Irene Polieri at Gibson Dunn.
How Restructuring Reforms Will Streamline Insolvency Plans

The recently published revised practice statement on schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans promises midmarket businesses efficiency without diluting safeguards, positioning schemes as inclusive tools rather than elite options, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.
How 2nd Circ. Decision Extends CFTC's Extraterritorial Reach

The Second Circuit recently concluded in U.S. v. Phillips that the Commodity Exchange Act extends to entirely foreign conduct if a victim of the conduct is based in the U.S., suggesting there is a heightened risk that foreign swap transactions will be susceptible to U.S. regulation when U.S. counterparties are involved, say attorneys at Skadden.
EBA Proposals Signal Overhaul Of EU 3rd-Party Risk Rules

The European Banking Authority’s plans to extend third-party risk controls to non-ICT services, which may be finalized by the end of the year, will place a significant compliance and operational burden on in-scope entities, which should not be underestimated, say lawyers at Travers Smith.
FCA Proposals Reduce Consumer Duty Compliance Burden

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to streamline the consumer duty regime represent a pragmatic response to industry concerns, with a move toward sector-specific supervision and potentially narrowing its scope for wholesale and cross-border business, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
How New Companies House ID Rules Affect Businesses

Lawyers at Shepherd & Wedderburn discuss the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act’s new mandatory identity verification requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control, set to go live next week, which aim to curb fraud by improving the reliability of information held by Companies House.
What EU Securitization Proposals Signal For Risk Transfers

If implemented, recent amendments to the European Union securitization framework are expected to have an unambiguously positive effect on significant risk transfer markets, providing greater consistency and necessary flexibility, say lawyers at McDermott.
Role Of UK Investment Act Is Evolving In M&A Deals

With merger and acquisition activity likely to increase in light of the government’s new defense industrial strategy, the role of the National Security and Investment Act will come into sharper focus, and its recent annual report confirms that scrutiny is intensifying, say lawyers at Kingsley Napley.
What To Know About EU's Reimposition Of Sanctions On Iran

Lawyers at Steptoe discuss the European Union’s recent reimposition of trade and financial sanctions against Iran, which will introduce legal and operational constraints that affect EU companies' commercial activities in the region.
FCA Crypto Proposals Herald Tougher Oversight For Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to extend regulation to crypto-asset activities will bring parity, but implementation of the operational resilience requirements and enhanced financial crime controls will present compliance challenges, says Michelle Kirschner at Gibson Dunn.
EU Investment Reporting Rules Letup Signals Pragmatic Shift

While investment companies remain subject to far-reaching disclosure obligations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, new guidance from the European Commission on reporting passive limited partner commitments represents a drastic simplification and burden reduction, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.
SFO's 2-Year Transformation Signals Crackdown On Fraud

Two years after Nick Ephgrave’s appointment as director of the Serious Fraud Office, the introduction of new corporate criminal offenses and strengthened investigative methods sends a clear message to corporations that the agency is delivering on its promise to be bolder and more proactive about tackling fraud, say lawyers at BCL Solicitors.
How EU And UK Consumer Loan Protections Are Shifting

As market evolution and digitalization motivate both the European Union and the U.K. to revamp consumer protections around lending, the potential for divergence between these rules will pose new challenges for cross-border consumer credit lenders, say lawyers at Skadden.
EBA Guidance Shakes Up EU Securitization Market Practices

Although the European Banking Authority’s recent questioning of the common use of conditional sale agreements to season assets when setting up securitizations has come as an unwelcome surprise, competent regulators are expected to follow the EBA guidance, even though as a Q&A response it is not legally binding, say lawyers at Debevoise.