Financial Services UK

  • March 11, 2024

    £237M Ponzi Case Doesn't Stack Up, Ex-LC&F Director Says

    A former director of London Capital & Finance told a trial over the £237 million ($304 million) investment scandal on Monday that he did not take part in the alleged Ponzi scheme.

  • March 11, 2024

    New Treasury Review Of AML Rules To Cast Wide Net

    The U.K. Treasury said Monday that a new review on the effectiveness of anti-money laundering regulations will have a broad scope, encompassing more than 100,000 businesses, including law firms.

  • March 11, 2024

    Insolvency Service Makes Progress on Gender Pay, Diversity

    Discrepancies in salaries between men and women at the Insolvency Service narrowed further by five percentage points in 2023, the bankruptcy administrator has revealed in its latest gender pay gap report, with women now making up more than half of its workforce.

  • March 18, 2024

    Taylor Wessing Hires Investment Funds Pro From Reed Smith

    Taylor Wessing LLP has hired Shervin Shameli from Reed Smith LLP as partner in its London office to bolster its investment business.

  • March 11, 2024

    Global Standards-Setter Sets Deposit Insurance Review

    The International Association of Deposit Insurers said Monday that it will focus its 2024 efforts on updating the rules for deposit insurance, including studying how it works, collecting more data on it and helping members improve their systems.

  • March 11, 2024

    Danish Prosecutors Open Tax Fraud Trial Against Sanjay Shah

    Prosecutors in Denmark opened the criminal trial on Monday of a British hedge fund trader accused of masterminding a £1.44 billion ($1.85 billion) tax fraud scheme. 

  • March 11, 2024

    FCA Ends Eight-Year Probe Into Former Mobile App Co. Execs

    The Financial Conduct Authority has ended its civil court proceedings against two former executives of Globo, nine years after the mobile software developer fell into administration amid allegations of accounting fraud.

  • March 11, 2024

    FCA Allows Crypto Exchange-Traded Notes For Professionals

    The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday that it will allow exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange to list crypto-backed investment products, but only for professional investors.

  • March 11, 2024

    Dentons Defeats SRA Over AML Checks On PEP Client

    A London tribunal confirmed on Monday that it has dismissed the Solicitors Regulation Authority's action against the U.K. arm of Dentons over the firm's handling of anti-money laundering checks on a politically exposed former client.

  • March 11, 2024

    FCA Fines British Steel Pensions Firm, Bans Advisers

    The finance watchdog said Monday that it has hit a financial advice company with a fine and banned two former employees after discovering failures by the business when it put through £90 million ($115 million) of retirement savings transfers for members of the British Steel Pension Scheme.

  • March 08, 2024

    FCA To Boost Fight Against Nonfinancial Misconduct

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it would ramp up its fight against bullying and sexual harassment in the financial services sector in light of a damning parliamentary report condemning efforts to tackle sexism in the financial services sector.

  • March 08, 2024

    NFT Platform Beats Rival's 'HyperNFT' TM

    An NFT platform has convinced U.K. intellectual property officials to scrap a rival's trademark for "HyperNFT," finding that consumers were likely to believe that they belonged to the same company.

  • March 08, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Barclays initiate legal proceedings against top Russian private bank JSC Alfa-Bank; Lex Greensill, founder of the collapsed Greensill Capital, suing the U.K.'s Department for Business and Trade; Wikipedia's parent company hit with a libel claim; and a sports journalism teacher filing a data protection claim against Manchester United FC. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 08, 2024

    Slaughter And May Guides PE Firm's £432M Wealth Firm Buy

    Pollen Street Capital said Friday that its subsidiary has agreed to fully buy out Mattioli Woods, a wealth management company, for approximately £432 million ($556 million), as the U.K. private equity investor looks to capture a slice of the lucrative sector.

  • March 08, 2024

    Azeri Tycoon Can't Shift Freeze On £50M UK Property Empire

    A High Court Judge refused Friday to lift a freeze on a £50 million ($64 million) London property empire belonging to an Azeri tycoon and politician allegedly purchased with illicit cash while U.K. law enforcers plan their next move.

  • March 08, 2024

    Gov't Sets Out 'Social Factors' Guide For Pension Investment

    The pensions watchdog has urged retirement fund managers to weigh social factors, such as labor rights and the safety of workers, as part of their investment considerations.

  • March 08, 2024

    'Aggressive' Cold-Calling Firm Shut For Targeting Pensioners

    A company that used "aggressive techniques" when selling unnecessary home service and maintenance plans to vulnerable pensioners has been wound up for targeting and misleading elderly customers.

  • March 08, 2024

    'Non-Dom' Tax Reforms Should Keep UK Lawyers Busy

    The government's decision to reform its 200-year-old "non-dom" tax regime to raise £2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) a year presents a short-term boom for tax lawyers expecting a rush of calls from existing and future clients looking for guidance on a new set of rules.

  • March 07, 2024

    Efforts To Tackle Sexism In City Moving At 'Snail's Pace'

    A group of senior MPs called on Friday for an end to the "era of impunity" in the country's financial sector, saying that efforts to tackle sexism in the City are moving at a "snail's pace" and ignoring the benefits of diversity.

  • March 07, 2024

    Dentons Says It Was Not Required To Refuse PEP Client

    The U.K. arm of Dentons argued at tribunal Thursday that it had done enough to establish how an ex-client had earned his wealth, saying it was not required to refuse service because his home country had a higher risk of corruption and money laundering.

  • March 07, 2024

    UK Launches Case To Disqualify Lex Greensill As A Director

    The U.K. government said Thursday that it is seeking to disqualify Lex Greensill, the founder of collapsed finance company Greensill Capital, from running another company for 15 years.

  • March 07, 2024

    Visa, Mastercard Fail To Ax Retailers' Swipe Fees Class Action

    An English appeals court Thursday said the U.K.'s antitrust tribunal was entitled to have approved a proposed class action against Visa and Mastercard over allegedly unfairly imposing interchange rules on retailers, finding it had a "broad margin of discretion" over case management decisions.

  • March 07, 2024

    Irish Central Bank Plans Modernized Consumer Protection

    The Central Bank of Ireland opened a consultation on Thursday on plans to modernize the Consumer Protection Code and clarify the obligations financial companies face for managing such risks as climate change.

  • March 07, 2024

    Libor Convictions Like Post Office Scandal, Lawmakers Say

    The prosecution of traders over rigging of benchmark interest rates was a "miscarriage of justice" similar to the Post Office scandal, two politicians said on Thursday, a week before two former bankers challenge their convictions in a landmark appeal.

  • March 07, 2024

    Slaughter & May Advises Nationwide's £2.9B Virgin Money Bid

    Nationwide Building Society said Thursday that it plans to buy Virgin Money UK in a £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion) cash deal that would create the second-largest mortgage and savings provider in Britain.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Approach Different Data Types In E-Disclosure Matters

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    The High Court's recent decision in Terre Neuve v. Yewdale highlights the importance of practitioners adequately approaching e-disclosure obligations, including understanding their data landscapes and the nuances of different data types, say Fiona Campbell at Fieldfisher and Alejandro Gomez-Igbo at Forensic Risk Alliance.

  • Why FCA Proposals For UK Listing Rules May Need Tweaking

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    Although many of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published proposals for listing rules reform are to be welcomed, a few further changes are needed if the regulator's objective of making the U.K. public markets more attractive is to be achieved, says Nigel Gordon at Fladgate.

  • Exploring UK Regulatory Reform Amid Global Bank Failures

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    In light of recent high-profile bank failures and the publication of a feedback statement to a U.K. regulatory review, the concern that banks are overly reluctant to use their stock begs the question whether regulators now need to rethink the operation of the liquidity coverage ratio, say Alix Prentice and Carl Hey at Cadwalader.

  • Key Takeaways From Recent UK Insolvency Disputes

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    As recent insolvency statistics show that U.K. registered company insolvencies are up 16% compared to last year, having a strong understanding of recent key U.K. decisions and how insolvency disputes operate is more important for companies now than it has ever been, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Why The Draft UK Fraud Offense May Not Be A Game Changer

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    Although the U.K.’s proposed "failure to prevent fraud" offense will generate a need for large businesses to reassess their existing processes, given the long lead-in times for prosecutions and the Serious Fraud Office's current success rate, it seems unlikely that the corporate fraud landscape will be immediately transformed, say Charles Kuhn and Charlotte Gill at Clyde & Co.

  • A Review Of The EU FDI Screening Regulation And Its Scope

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    The EU advocate general’s recent broad interpretation of the EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation takes account of some of the geopolitical challenges faced by the bloc, and may foreshadow a revision of the regulation and widen the scope of investments screened, say Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring.

  • Key Takeaways From EU Proposal For Greenwashing Rules

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    If the proposal for a Green Claims Directive, with its enhanced rules on claims about a product or trader's environmental impact, is adopted, it will affect all businesses selling their products in the EU and bring major changes to the way those products are packaged and advertised, say attorneys at Shearman.

  • How EU ESG Regs Affect US Financial Market Participants

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    The European Commission recently confirmed that the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation applies to all funds marketed in the EU, so affected U.S. financial market participants will need to consider the new guidance on principal adverse impacts, sustainable investments and promotion of carbon emissions reductions, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • UK Plan For AI Rules Raises Compliance Questions For Cos.

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    The U.K. government's proposal for a new, clear and pro-innovation regulatory framework on artificial intelligence diverges from the European Union's approach, which may create incoherence and compliance burdens for businesses operating in both jurisdictions, says attorneys at Akin Gump.

  • UK Investment Screening Inches Closer To US Regime

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    The recent agreement between the U.K. Cabinet Office and House of Commons concerning parliamentary scrutiny of the Investment Security Unit represents a step toward greater transparency of intervention in investments that may raise national security concerns, and underscores increasing alignment with the U.S. regime, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • UK Ruling May Affect 3rd-Party Fraud Liability Post-Insolvency

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    While the recent Court of Appeal decision in Tradition Financial Services v. Bilta could make Section 213 of the Insolvency Act a powerful tool for liquidators, it also heightens the risk of companies tangentially involved in fraud being subject to claims following insolvency, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • 5 Ways For A Legal Practice To Close Technology Gaps

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    With technology a driving force for success, the U.K. legal sector must embrace innovation to maintain its competitive edge, and investing in new processes is no longer optional, says Gareth Preece at Doherty Associates.

  • UK Ruling Offers Useful Guidance To Insolvency Practitioners

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    The recent U.K. High Court ruling in a matter involving Sova Capital represents the first unsecured credit bid to be approved by an English court, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to complex sanctions-related administrations and identifying a novel solution for insolvency practitioners to maximize value for the benefit of creditors, say attorneys at Katten.

  • The FCA's Timely Plan To Reform Asset Management Regime

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    The discussion paper recently issued by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority finally addresses how, in the future, asset management regulation will work in totality from an investor, manager and distributor perspective, and its review of the purpose and balance of the regime is welcomed, says Tim Dolan at Greenberg Traurig.

  • UK's Draft Fraud Offense And How It May Affect Companies

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    The new U.K. corporate criminal offense of "failing to prevent fraud," recently published in draft form, will make it easier for prosecutions to be brought against companies, with no need to show that the "directing mind and will" of a company were involved in the fraud, say attorneys at Allen & Overy.

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