Financial Services UK

  • August 21, 2026

    Pension Sponsors Revisit Endgame Plans As Options Widen

    More than nine in 10 sponsors of U.K. defined benefit pension programs have either reviewed or are currently scrutinizing their long-term retirement strategy, a new report says, as businesses now weigh a wider number of options for the future of their schemes.

  • August 21, 2026

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen former Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten sue a fur auction house, private equity and pensions magnate Edmund Truell hit by a commercial fraud claim and Charles Russell Speechlys file a contract claim against two of its previous clients in the Middle East.

  • August 21, 2026

    Standard Chartered Issues Milestone $200M In Digital Notes

    Standard Chartered said it has become the first global systemically important bank and the first U.K. company to issue digitally native notes on Euroclear's digital financial markets infrastructure.

  • August 21, 2026

    Pinsent, Eversheds Guide Trustees On M&G Pension Buy-In

    Investment manager M&G PLC said it has completed an £85 million ($116 million) buy-in transaction with a pension program sponsored by British flooring and wall cladding company Altro Ltd. for its employees.

  • August 21, 2026

    Holman Fenwick-Led Investor Helios Raises Buyback To £2.5M

    Investment company Helios Underwriting PLC said Friday it has increased its stock repurchase program by a further £500,000 ($683,000), bringing the total the company plans to buy back from investors to as much as £2.5 million.

  • August 21, 2026

    White & Case Steers MPS Bids For Two Italian Banking Rivals

    Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA said Friday that it plans twin bids for rivals Banca Generali and Banco BPM, potentially creating Italy's third-largest lender with a market value of about €70 billion ($82 billion).

  • August 20, 2026

    Deutsche Bank Freed From Fed's 2017 Forex-Rigging Order

    The Federal Reserve has terminated a 2017 enforcement action that required Deutsche Bank to pay nearly $137 million over its alleged role in Wall Street's foreign exchange rate-rigging scandals.

  • August 20, 2026

    Director Must Disclose Info For $6M Investment Fraud Claim

    A British business director could face a $6 million fraud claim after a London judge ruled Thursday that he must disclose records from his investment business to the family behind an international textile company.

  • August 20, 2026

    FCA Flags Mini-Bond, Loan Note Risk After Woodville Crash

    The Financial Conduct Authority warned Thursday about the dangers of investing in high-risk loan notes and mini-bonds following the collapse of litigation funder Woodville Consultants Ltd.

  • August 20, 2026

    Communications Biz Loses Challenge To DWP Procurement

    A communications provider lost its challenge on Thursday to a Department for Work and Pensions videoconferencing contract, as a court upheld the exclusion of the company's bid over its answer to a technical question.

  • August 20, 2026

    Unregulated Finance Firm Faces £55M Fraud Claim

    Two investment firm partners are being sued by a client who claims they ran a £55 million ($75 million) fraud at their new business, more than a decade after they were banned from working for regulated financial services companies.

  • August 20, 2026

    Investor Eyes £58M-Plus From Sale Of School Projects Stakes

    International Public Partnerships, an infrastructure investment company, has agreed to divest its holdings in nine projects involving 15 London schools, a move it expects will generate gross proceeds of more than £58 million ($79 million) when the deal completes.

  • August 20, 2026

    UK Pension Schemes Commit £400M To Infrastructure Fund

    A group of British pension plans has committed £400 million ($545 million) to an investment fund of collected retirement savings programs designed to invest capital into local infrastructure and other U.K. assets.

  • August 20, 2026

    FCA Finds Flaws In Lenders' Car Finance Redress Plans

    The Financial Conduct Authority has set out poor practice it found in lenders' plans for implementing its motor finance redress system, including inadequate data management controls.

  • August 20, 2026

    Reed Smith Steers Isio On Pensions Admin Co. Buy

    Pensions management company Isio has acquired retirement savings administration provider Trafalgar House Pensions Administration Ltd., in a move to expand the range of plans Isio can support.

  • August 20, 2026

    Paul Weiss Guides Standard Life's £2B Pensions Venture

    Standard Life PLC launched a partnership with a consortium of major global financial companies on Thursday to expand in the U.K. pension risk-transfer market, with a combined initial capital commitment of up to £2 billion ($2.7 billion).

  • August 19, 2026

    Council Pins £150M Solar Investment Loss On Business Exec

    An embattled English council has branded as a baseless "late invention" a business executive's claim that he was entitled to take a £15 million ($20.4 million) fee from the council's solar investments, amid the council suing him for £150 million in failed investments.

  • August 19, 2026

    QuidPay Costs Cut Over FCA Threats In $12M Funds Dispute

    Online payment company Quidpay had its legal costs stemming from its funds dispute with a fintech platform trimmed to $400,000 on Wednesday, as a London judge said the award should be cut by a third for making allegations he deemed "unsustainable."

  • August 19, 2026

    Finance Exec Says Piraeus Restructure Axes €31M Debt Claim

    A business executive has told a London court that a Greek bank cannot hold him liable for a €31 million ($36 million) debt allegedly owed by two companies linked to him because it is legally separate from the original lender.

  • August 19, 2026

    FCA Bans And Fines Ex-Fund Manager Head Over Failures

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday it has fined and banned the former chief executive of a wealth management and stockbroking firm that has since entered administration, finding he failed to properly manage the firm and to put customers' interests ahead of its profits.

  • August 19, 2026

    Mexican Investor Sues Floreat Unit For $12M Funding Return

    Mexican businessman Ricardo Antonio Ponce Gutierrez and his company have filed a claim for 10 million Swiss francs ($12.4 million) in London's High Court against a member of the Floreat investment group, alleging it failed to repay funding provided under two investment agreements.

  • August 19, 2026

    Burges Salmon Accused Of Botching London Property Deal

    A prospective buyer of two properties in east London has sued Burges Salmon LLP, alleging that the law firm mishandled information and evidence he provided about potential fraud exposure during the transaction.

  • August 19, 2026

    Lebanon Bank Says Crisis Made Sheikh's $24M Transfer Illegal

    A Lebanon-based bank has denied wrongly refusing to transfer more than $24 million to a Saudi sheikh's Swiss account, arguing that Lebanon's banking crisis made performing the transfer impossible and that complying with the request would now constitute a criminal offense.

  • August 18, 2026

    BoE Must Disclose Why Mitie Staffer Missed Out On Transfer

    A tribunal has ordered the Bank of England to hand over documents that could shed light on whether a Mitie Ltd. worker was unfairly dismissed after he was excluded from a transfer to another security provider.

  • August 18, 2026

    FCA Bans Senior Manager Who Hid Director Disqualification

    The U.K.'s financial regulator said Tuesday it has banned a debt management company's executive from working in financial services, saying he lied under oath in an attempt to conceal being a company director and later failed to disclose the resulting 10-year disqualification.

Expert Analysis

  • UK Corp. Crime Landscape Raises Global Governance Stakes

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    The Crime and Policing Act 2026 recently entered into force, highlighting a growing emphasis on governance and senior management oversight, the influence of compliance on commercial decision-making, and an overlap between legal and regulatory risk across jurisdictions, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • NYDFS Swedbank Order Offers Lessons On Candor

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    The New York State Department of Financial Services' consent order with Swedbank reflects the department's broad view of its investigative authority, emphasizes transparency, and underscores the risks of intrusive investigations that can occur if a regulator believes that it was misled, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Broadfield's James Duncan

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    James Duncan, Broadfield's head of U.K. funds, discusses how his journey to team leadership has had more twists than a Netflix thriller, how Brexit created a labyrinth of compliance, and why lawyers who thrive will be the ones who see change as both a challenge and an opportunity.

  • Saxon Woods Ruling Clarifies Directors' Duty Of Good Faith

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    The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent landmark judgment in Saxon Woods sends a clear message to businesses that a director's conduct must withstand objective scrutiny, affirming that even if an individual believes they are acting in the company's best interests, they cannot deceive fellow board members, says Richard Clayman at Kingsley Napley.

  • Sanctions Spotlight: Rise Of Trade Measures In The UK

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    With HM Revenue & Customs' recent settlement with Petrofac marking the first public naming of a company for breaches of U.K. trade sanctions, and regulators demonstrating an increasing emphasis on systems and controls, there is clearly a more complex landscape evolving that businesses need to navigate, says Alexandra Melia at Steptoe.

  • Entain Ruling Offers Parties Key E-File Guidance

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    The U.K. Commercial Court’s recent decision in Various Claimants v. Entain PLC provides guidance for the first time for those navigating a court document filing pilot scheme, offering a practical template for parties to litigation involving sensitive issues by balancing transparency obligations with legitimate confidentiality concerns, say lawyers at HSFK.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Mayer Brown's Ronan Mellon

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    Ronan Mellon, Mayer Brown's finance office practice lead, discusses how working in the City is like a parallel universe to growing up in rural Ireland, the challenges of working on a bond refinancing with a highly complex escrow arrangement, and why he is a fan of client secondments for junior lawyers.

  • BlueCrest Decision Tightens Test For LLP Tax Treatment

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    The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent judgment in HMRC v. BlueCrest Capital Management clarifies the tax framework for assessing whether limited liability partnership members are genuinely operating as partners or should be treated as employees, which is likely to be significant far beyond the hedge fund sector, say lawyers at Stewarts Law.

  • EU Ruling Creates Clear Separation Of Sanctions, AML Risks

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    A recent ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union bars banks from automatically denying basic payment accounts based on U.S. sanctions listings, emphasizing the distinction between sanctions and money laundering risks while preserving significant discretion following individualized assessments, says Vaïk Müller at CMS.

  • FCA Letter Highlights Football Clubs' Crypto Deal Risks

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    The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent warning to Premier League football clubs about sponsorship arrangements with unauthorized crypto-asset businesses demonstrates its concerns over unlawful financial promotions and anti-money laundering compliance failures, both of which run the risk of significant reputational damage and criminal prosecution, says Sushil Kuner at Freeths.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Norton Rose's Jonathan Herbst

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    Jonathan Herbst, Norton Rose's global head of financial services, discusses the importance of encouraging a team as a whole, how increasingly complex regulation means that deals come down to managing risk across multiple regimes, and why incremental short-term goals are just as important as longer-term plans.

  • UK Bill Would Transform Commercial Payments Terms

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    A bill recently introduced to Parliament, if enacted, would replace significant areas of contractual freedom concerning payment terms with mandatory rules that would fundamentally alter the balance of power between smaller suppliers and larger counterparties, says Sam Cooper at Crowell & Moring.

  • Int'l Bribery Enforcement Takeaways After SFO Conference

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    While the U.K. Serious Fraud Office's recent conference demonstrated a global consensus on the importance of combating bribery and corruption, lagging enforcement from U.S. and U.K. regulators suggests that muscular supranational agencies may soon step up to lead cross-border investigations, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.

  • UK-Gulf Trade Deal Offers Key Benefits, But Hurdles Remain

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    The U.K.’s recent free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council is expected to deliver U.K. businesses a competitive advantage, with simplified procedures and tariff removal across manufacturing, services and digital trade sectors, but navigating Gulf regional tensions and differing regulatory regimes will create challenges, say lawyers at King & Spalding.

  • Crypto Sector Sees Tougher Sanctions Compliance Demands

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    The U.K. government’s recently announced Russian sanctions package focusing on crypto-assets is a clear indication that authorities consider the crypto sector a major enforcement area, firmly within the scope of financial sanctions law, says Thomas Cattee at Gherson Solicitors.

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