Financial Services UK

Expert Analysis

• Judging The Financial Conduct Authority 5 Years On

  

  The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, 5 years old this month, has had significant success in securing record financial penalties against firms in relation to misconduct, but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to hold senior individuals to account, says David Rundle of WilmerHale.

• EU's ICO Response Lags Behind Its Potato Regulation

  

  Recently, a multitude of regulators within the European Union have issued warnings on initial coin offerings of cryptocurrency tokens. However, until they start applying existing rules to ICOs or successfully develop new rules, the industry will remain relatively unregulated, say Bob Penn, Sarah Lewis, Matthew Fisher, Danilo Santoboni and Ulrike Schuster of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

• Opinion

  There Is Middle Ground For US Lawyers On AML Regimes

  

  The American Bar Association continues to oppose legislation that would impose certain European Union and U.K. anti-money laundering requirements on U.S. lawyers. The ABA should further consider its approach to this issue as there is a viable middle ground that protects privileged communications and confidential information while advancing the interests of the legal profession, says Matthew O’Hara of Freeborn & Peters LLP.

• The Outlook For Anti-Suit Injunctions After Brexit

  

  It remains to be seen whether, after Brexit, the U.K. will issue anti-suit injunctions in relation to proceedings in EU member states. Much will depend on whether the U.K. adopts the common law approach or Lugano Convention, or negotiates a new agreement with the EU, say Nicholas Greenwood and Nicola Kelly of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

• EU Ruling Casts Doubt On Bilateral Investment Treaties

  

  In March, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that an arbitration clause in a bilateral investment treaty between two member states was incompatible with EU law. This decision may impact foreign direct investments significantly, as similar clauses are common to almost 200 BITs currently in force, says Charles Goldblatt of Seddons.

• GDPR Will Benefit Financial Services In The Long Run

  

  We are entering the next data age very soon, and the financial services industry must get on board and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, which provides firms with opportunities to devise new competitive advantage from handling data and cleansing systems, says Phil Beckett of Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC.

• Taming The UK's Unpredictable Digital Currency Market

  

  The U.K.'s Treasury Committee recently launched a new inquiry into digital currencies and distributed ledger technology. Regulation is undeniably needed in this area, but ultimately the government is trying to play catch-up with an established, if unpredictable, market, says Anna Gaudoin of WilmerHale.

• IP Considerations For UK Open Banking App Developers

  

  Since January of this year, consumer-facing banks in the U.K. have been required to make customers' banking data available to authorized third parties in a standardized format. As competition between open banking app developers increases, intellectual property rights will become a key legal tool, say Rajvinder Jagdev and Peter Damerell of Powell Gilbert LLP.

• Opinion

  BigLaw Doesn't Have A Diversity Problem

  

  Although the lack of racial and gender diversity among the ranks of the majority of both midsized and top law firms is a major issue, it’s past time to shed light on the real problem — inclusion, or lack thereof, says Marlen Whitley of Reed Smith LLP.

• Equity Partnership Isn’t What It Used To Be

  

  To many young attorneys, becoming an equity partner shows a firm's long-term commitment, meaning job security and a voice in important firm matters. However, the industry has changed and nowadays it may not be better to enter a new firm as an equity partner, says Jeffrey Liebster of Major Lindsey & Africa.