Financial Services UK

  • May 02, 2025

    FCA Proposes Curb On Purchase Of Crypto-Assets On Credit

    The Financial Conduct Authority proposed on Friday to restrict how far cryptocurrency companies could go in allowing consumers to buy crypto-assets on credit, part of its planned regulatory regime for the sector.

  • May 02, 2025

    EY Can Reveal $9.7B Settlement At UAE Health Biz Fraud Trial

    EY won an attempt on Friday to reveal a $9.66 billion settlement inked by a United Arab Emirates health care business and senior company officers accused of a $4 billion fraud as it defends itself against allegations it failed to stop the alleged wrongdoing.

  • May 02, 2025

    US Tariffs Spark Concerns for Unhedged Pension Assets

    European pension funds that have significant unhedged dollar assets could be in trouble, experts warned Friday, as unprecedented market volatility was sparked imposition of U.S. trade tariffs.

  • May 02, 2025

    Draft UK Crypto-Regulations Facing Teething Troubles

    The government's new crypto-assets regime will be unenforceable across borders and could deter fledgling companies from working in the country, meaning that the financial watchdog will face early challenges to its attempts to protect British consumers in a volatile global marketplace.

  • May 02, 2025

    Pension Deal Insurance Capacity Outstrips Demand

    Eight out of 10 pension deals last year involved a scheme with less than £100 million ($133 million) in assets, due to a major increase in insurer capacity, a consultancy said Friday.

  • May 02, 2025

    Bank Sues Fintech Execs For Fraud Over £4M Investment

    A German specialist property lender has sued the co-founders of a financial technology startup for £4.2 million ($5.6 million) in London over claims that the former investment bankers hid the fact they had obtained additional investment in their business prior to its collapse.

  • May 01, 2025

    Janus Analyst Accused Of Insider Trading Denies Hiding Deals

    Prosecutors dismissed a former Janus Henderson analyst's claim he had not disclosed trades allegedly made with insider information because he regarded his employer's trading compliance policies to be "window dressing," saying on Thursday that the "simple explanation" was that he had wished to keep them secret.

  • May 01, 2025

    UK Pension Funds Face Scrutiny Over Investment Plans

    A parliamentary committee will quiz pensions chiefs as part of a wider probe into whether the £3 trillion ($4 trillion) retirement savings sector can invest more in U.K. assets to better support the country's economic growth.

  • May 01, 2025

    Cross-Border Payments Firms Lack Transparency, FCA Says

    Companies offering international money remittance and cross-border payment services often fail to explain their fees clearly and should consider making improvements under the Consumer Duty, the Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday.

  • May 01, 2025

    BNY Can't Escape A&O Shearman's £93M Negligence Claim

    Bank of New York Mellon lost its fight Thursday to escape a claim from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling alleging that the lender caused Nationwide Building Society to face a £93 million ($109 million) tax bill by bungling the issuance of notes.

  • May 01, 2025

    Insurers Underestimating Climate Change, BoE Warns

    U.K. insurers must do a better job of reflecting the risk of climate change on their balance sheets, the Bank of England has warned.

  • May 01, 2025

    UK Crypto-Asset Business Shut Down For International Fraud

    Crypto-asset company BTCMining has been shut down by a court in England after complaints from across the globe that it did not pay out their returns, according to the Insolvency Service.

  • May 01, 2025

    UK Gov't Mulling Major Reform To Pensions Protection Fund

    The government has confirmed that there are still plans to transform the Pension Protection Fund into a public sector consolidator of retirement savings schemes.

  • April 30, 2025

    Ex-Janus Analyst Insists Cash Was For Father's Business

    A former analyst for asset management company Janus Henderson told jurors that £198,000 ($264,100) in cash — alleged by the Financial Conduct Authority to be dirty money — was for his father's construction business, denying the FCA's accusation.

  • April 30, 2025

    Morgan Lewis Expands Tax Practice With Milbank Hire

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP added a former Milbank special counsel as a tax partner based in the firm's London office.

  • April 30, 2025

    Dentist Fights HMRC Over Alleged Tax Avoidance

    A dentist's firm urged an appeals court on Wednesday to find that it had not engaged in tax avoidance by making loan payments to its owner through a trust, saying the payments had no connection to its owner's employment and therefore were not taxable as income.

  • April 30, 2025

    Lebanon Bank Loses Jurisdiction Fight In $24M Transfer Case

    A Lebanese bank on Wednesday lost its bid to block a Saudi sheikh from suing it in a London court to force it to transfer $24 million to his Swiss bank account amid an economic crisis in Lebanon.

  • April 30, 2025

    UBS To Buy Back Further $2.5B Worth Of Shares In 2025

    UBS Group AG said on Wednesday it will reward investors by repurchasing up to $2.5 billion in shares this year, despite a drop in net profit and an "unpredictable" economy.

  • April 30, 2025

    9M Britons Retire With Meager Private Pensions, Report Says

    Almost 9 million people in the U.K. enter retirement "significantly under-pensioned," with annual private pension incomes of between £3,650 ($4,870) to £6,750, according to a report by the Pensions Policy Institute.

  • May 07, 2025

    White & Case Hires Back PE Pro From Kirkland In London

    White & Case LLP announced Wednesday the return of a corporate partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP to boost its cross-border private equity offering to deal with the increase in transactions it expects to continue through the year.

  • April 30, 2025

    FCA Says Meta Slacking In The Removal Of Suspect Ads

    The Financial Conduct Authority named Facebook owner Meta on Wednesday as the biggest laggard among the big tech companies in terms of responding to requests to take down material from "finfluencers" about whom the watchdog had issued warnings.

  • April 30, 2025

    Justices To Decide Asset Split In Banker's £112M Divorce Case

    The former wife of a UBS banker told the U.K. Supreme Court on Wednesday that she should get an equal split of their £112 million ($149 million) family wealth in a case that could confirm whether assets generated outside marriage can ever be shared.

  • April 30, 2025

    HMRC Should Use AI To Boost Services, Report Says

    ​​​​​​HM Revenue & Customs is still not doing enough to improve its services and should prepare to use artificial intelligence to enhance customer service for U.K. taxpayers and increase its productivity, according to a parliamentary report.

  • April 30, 2025

    UK Finance Sector Calls For Cuts To Audit Regulation

    A group of finance and corporate trade bodies urged the government on Wednesday to reduce and simplify regulation of auditors to support U.K. growth.

  • April 30, 2025

    Lender Says Company Owner Gifted Biz To Son To Evade Debt

    A finance provider has sued a businessman for allegedly gifting a company to his son the day after the lender had demanded payment of more than £4.7 million ($6.3 million) under a loan guarantee.

Expert Analysis

  • What Justices' Cert. Denial Of Terrorism Suit Means For Banks

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in Freeman v. HSBC Holdings lets stand the Second Circuit's decision on the narrow scope of conspiracy liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, providing protection for banks that otherwise could have faced liability for finance activities with limited connections to third parties' unlawful acts, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Firms Should Prepare For New DEI Reporting Requirements

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    While the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority's recent proposals on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector are progressive, implementing reporting requirements will pose data collection and privacy protection challenges for employers, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.

  • What The UK Digital Markets Bill Will Mean For Businesses

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    The new investigatory and enforcement powers conferred by the U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill mean that although businesses may be aware of their market status due to existing EU law, they should ensure they are mindful of the changes to consumer law and the implications for digital markets, says Richard Hugo at Burges Salmon.

  • 5 Takeaways From ICO's Biometric Recognition Guidance

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    Recent guidance from the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is a helpful reminder of key data protection principles and obligations stemming from the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation that organizations should consider when implementing biometric recognition technology, say lawyers at Dechert.

  • Shifting From Technical To Clear Insurance Contract Wordings

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    Recent developments on insurance policies, including the Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty, represent a major shift for insurers and highlight the importance of drafting policies that actively improve understanding, rather than shift the onus onto the end user, say Tamsin Hyland and Jonathan Charwat at RPC.

  • A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT

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    The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.

  • Considerations For Fund Managers Seeking Retail Investment

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    With recent legal developments, including a revised Long Term Investment Funds Regulation effective in 2024, supporting the market trend of retailization, there are several practical considerations for alternative fund managers embarking on a European fundraise for retail capital, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Kate Downey at Fried Frank.

  • FDI Considerations For UK Venture Capital Transactions

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    With the U.K. National Security and Investment Act highlighting foreign direct investment matters for venture capital transactions, investors dealing with companies connected to the U.K. should be alive to how the act's requirements can affect deal timelines, structures and terms, say lawyers at Covington.

  • How Employers Can Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace

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    A recent run of cases emphasize employers' duties to make reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse employees under the Equalities Act, illustrating the importance of investing in staff education and listening to neurodivergent workers to improve recruitment, retention and productivity in the workplace, say Anna Henderson and Tim Leaver at Herbert Smith.

  • What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU

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    Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.

  • Why FCA Crypto Rules Need To Align With UK Gov't Aims

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    There is a critical need for cryptocurrency regulations that protect consumers while supporting the government's aim to make the U.K. a crypto hub, but the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently effective rules on financial promotion of crypto-assets bring an unintended risk that legitimate firms will be driven out of the market, says Laura Navarathnam at the Crypto Council for Innovation.

  • CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control

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    The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • UK Mozambique Ruling Will Have Int'l Ramifications

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    The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Mozambique v. Privinvest considered for the first time stay proceedings under the Arbitration Act, offering guidance on whether claims are a "matter" within the scope of an arbitration clause, which could become a point of reference for foreign courts in the future, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.

  • Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism

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    New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • Audit Regulator Review Has Tips On Climate Metric Reporting

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    The U.K. Financial Reporting Council’s recent review of climate-related metrics and targets in listed companies’ annual reports is an extremely useful guide for issuers considering the quality of their disclosure reporting, with a number of key areas identified as central to further improvement, say lawyers at Bryan Cave.

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