Financial Services UK

  • August 23, 2024

    Ex-Iraqi Minister Foils Reporting Org.'s Defense In Libel Case

    An Iraqi politician has successfully persuaded a judge to throw out an investigative reporting organization's qualified privilege defense to his defamation claim, with the judge ruling Friday that an article about alleged corruption in the Iraqi oil business did not accurately reflect court proceedings.

  • August 23, 2024

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

    The past week in London has seen Google sue several Russian media outlets in response to challenges to the tech giant's response to international sanctions, easyGroup bring an intellectual property claim against delivery company Easycargo, and e-money business Nyavo challenge action by the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • August 23, 2024

    Oligarch Denied Bid To ID Client Linked To $20M Transfer

    A judge refused Friday to let an imprisoned Russian oligarch force a group of companies to disclose the identity of a client who requested a $20 million transfer, saying that revealing the person's identity runs the risk of violating criminal law in Liechtenstein.

  • August 23, 2024

    Direct Line Reveals Capital Ratio Accounting Error

    Direct Line Insurance Group PLC said Friday it has corrected a miscalculation in its accounting that distorted its capital buffer in its financial results for the year ending December 2023.

  • August 23, 2024

    UK Terrorism Reinsurer Appoints Howden, Aon As Advisers

    Britain's terrorism reinsurer has said it has appointed Aon Securities Ltd. and Howden Capital Markets as advisers for insurance-linked securities transactions.

  • August 23, 2024

    Swiss Watchdog Recognizes Insurance Self-Regulation Plan

    The financial watchdog of Switzerland said Friday that it has officially recognized the insurance industry's self-regulation concerning the training and education of insurance intermediaries, but warned that it will intervene if necessary to protect consumers.

  • August 22, 2024

    Fidelis Denies Liability For $238M Over Stranded Planes

    Fidelis has argued it should not be liable for paying out claims totaling more than $238 million over planes stranded in Russia, arguing the lessors had not been irretrievably deprived of the aircraft under the terms of the policies.

  • August 22, 2024

    Barclays Denies Losing Trader £6.7M On Investor Platform

    Barclays has denied costing a customer £6.7 million ($8.7 million) after he was blocked from trading on the bank's investor platform, claiming the market trader was aware of the uncertain situation of his shares and any loss was his own.

  • August 22, 2024

    Mike Lynch's Path From Tech Founder To DOJ Target

    Friends and colleagues paid tribute to Mike Lynch following his death in a yachting accident on Thursday, hailing the British tech entrepreneur for the decades he spent furthering the industry despite the legal troubles that threatened to overshadow his career.

  • August 22, 2024

    EU Decision Keeps Tax Relief For UK Investment Schemes

    The European Commission will allow U.K. government-backed programs that encourage private investment in small companies to continue offering favorable tax terms for investors, according to a decision published Thursday.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ukrainian Man Hits Cyprus Companies For £1.2M Loan Debt

    A Ukrainian man has sued two banks in a London court for allegedly defaulting on a £1 million ($1.3 million) loan.

  • August 22, 2024

    'Beloved By Everyone': Attys Recall Clifford Chance's Morvillo

    Clifford Chance LLP partner Christopher Morvillo, who died this week after a luxury yacht he was on sank off the coast of Sicily, is being remembered not only as a lion of the legal community but also as an "extraordinary human being" and a "Renaissance man" who was devoted to his family.

  • August 22, 2024

    Over 3M UK Pensioners To Be Dragged Into Higher Tax Rates

    Government data shows 3.1 million U.K. pensioners will be dragged into paying higher taxes in the next four years due to the freeze on income thresholds, financial firm Quilter PLC said Thursday.

  • August 22, 2024

    UK Pension Deal Market Likely To Hit £40B In 2024

    The value of pension insurance transactions in 2024 is likely to drop to £40 billion ($52.4 billion), an insurer has said, bucking expectations of another record-breaking year for the market.

  • August 22, 2024

    Mike Lynch's Body Recovered From Yacht Wreck

    Mike Lynch, founder of technology company Autonomy, died when a yacht he was aboard sank off the Sicilian coast, his family confirmed Friday, after a trip the entrepreneur had reportedly chartered with his legal team to celebrate their victory in a U.S. fraud case.

  • August 22, 2024

    Bank Of Georgia To Buy Back Shares Worth $27M

    Bank of Georgia Group PLC said on Thursday that it will launch a share buyback program worth 73.4 million Georgian lari ($27 million) aimed at cutting its outstanding share capital, as it reported increased profit.

  • August 21, 2024

    Top Commercial Disputes To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2024

    A claim against BHP from victims of Brazil's deadliest environmental disaster, a $10 billion insurance megatrial over planes stranded in Russia and a legal challenge to the response by the U.K. financial regulator to the mis-selling scandal are just some of the trials to look out for in the second half of 2024.

  • August 21, 2024

    Sporting Co.'s Ex-Director Sentenced For COVID Loan Misuse

    The former director of a Sussex-based sporting services company has been sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and 150 hours of unpaid work for exploiting a government COVID-19 business loan, the U.K.'s Insolvency Service announced Wednesday.

  • August 21, 2024

    Ex-Barclays VP Loses Bias Case Over Potential Promotion

    Barclays Execution Center defeated dozens of discrimination and unfair dismissal claims from a former vice president, after an employment tribunal ruled that she was bringing up personal qualms against a manager who hadn't treated her badly.

  • August 21, 2024

    VAT Fraudster Loses Bid To Escape Repaying £1.4M

    A man involved in a £40 million ($52 million) criminal tax fraud scheme has lost a bid to avoid repaying £1.4 million as a London court ruled on Wednesday that he had failed to prove he no longer had hidden assets.

  • August 21, 2024

    Pension Bodies Call For Investment Consultants Regulation

    The government should urgently move forward with delayed plans to bring investment consultants under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority, pension bodies and climate groups warned.

  • August 28, 2024

    Paul Weiss Hires TDR Capital's GC For Private Equity Team

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP said Wednesday that it has recruited a partner from private equity firm TDR Capital as it continues its expansion in London.

  • August 21, 2024

    PE Firm's £432M Deal Wins UK Security Clearance

    Wealth management firm Mattioli Woods said Wednesday that the U.K. government has granted national security clearance to its acquisition for approximately £432 million ($564 million) by private equity firm Pollen Street, clearing the way after some delay for the completion of the deal.

  • August 21, 2024

    Broker SRG Eyes UK Rival Amid 2024 Shopping Spree

    Specialist Risk Group has said it hopes to make its fifth acquisition for 2024 after it offered to buy Anthony James Insurance Brokers Ltd., which it expects will boost its retail division across the U.K.

  • August 21, 2024

    Insurers Failing To Give Customers Good Value, FCA Warns

    The Financial Conduct Authority called on insurers and brokers on Wednesday to remedy failures to demonstrate that they offer fair value to customers with good outcomes.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    UK Whistleblowers Flock To The US For Good Reason

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    The U.K. Serious Fraud Office director recently brought renewed attention to the differences between the U.K. and U.S. whistleblower regimes — differences that may make reporting to U.S. agencies a better and safer option for U.K. whistleblowers, and show why U.K. whistleblower laws need to be improved, say Benjamin Calitri and Kate Reeves at Kohn Kohn.

  • 4 Legal Privilege Lessons From Dechert Disclosure Ruling

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    The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, finding that evidence may have been incorrectly withheld, provides welcome clarification of the scope of legal professional privilege, including the application of the iniquity exception, says Tim Knight at Travers Smith.

  • BT Case May Shape UK Class Action Landscape

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    The first opt-out collective action trial commenced in Le Patourel v. BT in the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal last month, regarding BT's abuse of dominance by overcharging millions of customers, will likely provide clarification on damages and funder returns in collective actions, which could significantly affect the class action regime, say lawyers at RPC.

  • Key Points From EC Economic Security Screening Initiatives

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    Lawyers at Herbert Smith analyze the European Commission's five recently announced initiatives aimed at de-risking the EU's trade and investment links with third countries, including the implementation of mandatory screening mechanisms and extending coverage to investments made by EU companies that are controlled subsidiaries of non-EU investors.

  • Following The Road Map Toward Quantum Security

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    With the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent publication of a white paper on a quantum-secure financial sector, firms should begin to consider the quantum transition early — before the process is driven by regulatory obligations — with the goal of developing a cybersecurity architecture that is agile while also allowing for quantum security, say lawyers at Cleary.

  • Why EU Ruling On Beneficial Ownership May Affect The UK

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    Following the EU judgment in Sovim v. Luxembourg that public access to beneficial ownership information conflicts with data protection rights, several British overseas territories and dependencies have recently reversed their commitment to introduce unrestricted access, and challenges to the U.K.’s liberal stance may be on the cards, says Rupert Cullen at Allectus Law.

  • Key Changes In FRC Code Aim To Promote Good Governance

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    The focus of the recently published Financial Reporting Council Corporate Governance Code on risk management and internal controls is to ensure the competitiveness of the U.K. listing regime while not compromising on governance standards, and issuers may wish to consider updating their policies in order to follow best practice, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • Ruling In FCA Case Offers Tips On Flexible Work Requests

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    In Wilson v. Financial Conduct Authority, the Employment Tribunal recently found that the regulator's rejection of a remote work request was justified, highlighting for employers factors that affect flexible work request outcomes, while emphasizing that individual inquiries should be considered on the specific facts, say Frances Rollin, Ella Tunnell and Kerry Garcia at Stevens & Bolton.

  • Breaking Down The New UK Pension Funding Regs

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    Recently published U.K. pension regulations, proposing major changes to funding and investing in defined benefit pension schemes, raise implementation considerations for trustees, including the importance of the employer covenant, say Charles Magoffin and Elizabeth Bullock at Freshfields.

  • Predicting DeFi Regulations At Home And Abroad In 2024

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    Though decentralized finance has advocates on both sides of the Atlantic in figures like U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, DeFi in 2024 seems likely to be folded into existing regulatory frameworks in the U.K. and EU, while anti-crypto scrutiny may discourage DeFi’s growth in the U.S., say Daniel Csefalvay and Eric Martin at BCLP.

  • Consultation Docs Can Help EU Firms Prep For Crypto Regs

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    Firms providing crypto services should note two recent papers from the European Securities and Markets Authority defining proposals on reverse solicitation and financial instrument classification that will be critical to clarifying the scope of the regulatory framework under the impending Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case

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    After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Investors' Call For Voting Changes Faces Practical Challenges

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    A recent investor coalition call on fund managers to offer pass-through voting on pooled funds highlights a renewed concern for clients’ interests, but legal, regulatory and technological issues need to be overcome to ensure that risks related to the product are effectively mitigated, says Angeli Arora at Allectus.

  • Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes

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    An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.

  • What Extension Of French FDI Control Means For Investors

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    The recently published French order on foreign investment control expands the regime's application to more sectors and at a lower threshold of share ownership, illustrating France's determination to maintain sovereignty over its supply chains in sensitive sectors, and adding new considerations for potential investors in these areas, say lawyers at Linklaters.

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