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Financial Services UK
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February 20, 2024
Liquidators, Claiming Fraud, Blast Tycoon's Bid To Keep $1B
Liquidators of U.K. companies that allege a diamond and jewelry tycoon swindled over $1 billion from banks have denied forming trumped-up fraud accusations to destroy his business, telling a London court the businessman has suffered as a "consequence of his own orchestration."
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February 20, 2024
Pension Transfers Could Cost Savers £70K In Retirement
Pensioners-to-be in the U.K. could lose about £70,000 ($88,500) in retirement when transferring their pension pot due to a lack of understanding of key information such as financial charges, according to recent research.
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February 20, 2024
Pension Numbers Shrink As Funding Grows, Watchdog Says
The number of defined benefit pension schemes in the U.K. has decreased by 2% since 2022, according to a report published Tuesday by The Pensions Regulator that shows that funding levels for retirement savings plans are continuing to improve.
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February 20, 2024
Barclays Plans £1B Share Buyback In Boost For Shareholders
Barclays PLC said on Tuesday it will launch a new share buyback program worth up to £1 billion ($1.26 billion) in the first quarter of 2024 as the lender looks to return excess cash to shareholders.
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February 20, 2024
Israeli Fintech Plans $175M Share Buyback, Dividend Payout
Plus500 said on Tuesday that it will roll out a new share buyback program worth up to $100 million, as it looks to reward investors despite a sharp drop in revenue.
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February 20, 2024
Alleged Putin Ally To Face UK Sanctions Breach Trial In 2025
A former Russian politician and alleged ally of Vladimir Putin will face a criminal trial in London in 2025 over allegations he breached the U.K.'s Russian sanctions regime, a judge said Tuesday.
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February 19, 2024
Insurers Detail Plans To Free £100B Amid Solvency Changes
Developing more consistent long-term decarbonization plans will help accelerate infrastructure investment of £100 billion ($126 billion) after the U.K. overhauls the capital adequacy rules for insurers, a report said on Monday.
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February 19, 2024
No Room For Doubt Over Madagascan Aide Bribery, Jury Told
The way a former top aide of the Madagascan president asked about payments "removes any room for doubt" that she knew she was soliciting bribes to secure mining rights for a U.K. gem company, prosecutors told a jury Monday.
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February 19, 2024
Lawyers For LC&F Chief Quit 'Ponzi Scheme' Trial Over Pay
Lawyers representing a former chief at London Capital & Finance walked out on the first day of a trial at a London court over the £237 million ($298 million) investment scandal, saying that one of the directors of the alleged Ponzi scheme was unable to pay him.
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February 19, 2024
Bank Of Georgia Offers $303.6M For Armenian Lender
Bank of Georgia said Monday that it has agreed to buy an Armenian bank for around $303.6 million in a deal guided by Baker McKenzie and Travers Smith LLP as it seeks to grow beyond the national Georgian market.
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February 19, 2024
AmTrust Hikes Counterclaim To £14M In Legal-Funding Fight
Insurer AmTrust has boosted its counterclaim against Novitas to £14.4 million ($18.1 million), alleging it paid out to the legal loans company under after-the-event litigation policies that were unenforceable and did not comply with regulations.
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February 19, 2024
Santander Launches €1.5B Share Buyback After Profit Gains
Banco Santander SA said on Monday it will reward investors with a new program to repurchase shares of up to €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).
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February 19, 2024
ECB Imposes Stricter Bank Asset Rules For Climate Risk
The European Central Bank updated its guidance Monday on models used by banks to gauge risks to assets, adding new requirements on climate and environmental exposures.
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February 19, 2024
NatWest Begins £300M Share Buyback As Profits Soar
NatWest Group PLC said on Monday that it has launched a share buyback program worth up to £300 million ($380 million) as the financial services group looks to reduce its shareholder equity after posting a surge in profits.
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February 19, 2024
Investment Scheme Manager Admits £19M Fraud
The manager of an investment scheme admitted defrauding investors out of £19 million ($24 million) over the course of five years when he appeared at a London criminal court on Monday.
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February 16, 2024
Ex-SFO Prosecutor, Disputes Chief Join Paul Hastings
Paul Hastings LLP has hired former senior Serious Fraud Office prosecutor Stuart Alford KC from Latham & Watkins LLP along with the co-chair of Latham's London litigation practice, a person with knowledge of the move said Friday.
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February 16, 2024
Rusal Drags Abramovich Into Potanin Mining Dispute
Aluminum giant Rusal has successfully dragged Roman Abramovich into its legal action against another oligarch over alleged breaches of an agreement setting out the governance of a Russian mining company, with a London judge ruling Friday that the claims should be heard together.
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February 16, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a legal battle erupt between JPMorgan and the founder of a Greek payments company following a dispute over the valuation of their jointly owned fintech business, the children of late Russian oligarch Vladimir Scherbakov face a claim by Fieldfisher LLP, the Director of Education and Training at the Solicitors Regulation Authority tackle a claim by two solicitors, and train operator First MTR South Western Trains file a claim against a security company. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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February 16, 2024
Lawyers Advising PE On Alternative Exits Amid Market Slump
Private equity firms have turned to their lawyers to find creative solutions for realizing cash for investors as deals activity in the IPO market in London remains sluggish — such as setting up continuation funds, making partial sales or working creatively with debt.
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February 16, 2024
Illegal Lender Imprisoned For Refusing To Pay Back Victims
An illegal moneylender has been sentenced to almost eight years in prison for failing to pay a £5.1 million ($6.4 million) confiscation order to compensate victims he charged exorbitant interest rates for small loans, the finance watchdog said on Friday.
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February 16, 2024
NatWest Plans £300M Buyback After Earnings Jump
NatWest Group PLC said Friday that it is planning to buy back up to £300 million ($380 million) of its shares in 2024 through an on-market program, as it reported a 20% increase in operating profit for 2023.
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February 16, 2024
Stephenson Harwood Hires Regulatory Pro In Corporate Boost
Stephenson Harwood LLP has appointed regulatory lawyer Christophe Boucherie as a partner in its London office, a move it believes will strengthen its corporate practice.
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February 16, 2024
UK Pension Annuity Sales Hit £5.2B In 2023, ABI Says
The total value of pension annuities for consumers jumped by almost 50% to £5.2 billion ($6.6 billion) in 2023, a trade body said Friday, a rise fueled in part by rising interest rates.
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February 16, 2024
Claims Managers Are Clouding Regulatory Status, FCA Warns
Claims management companies are failing to distinguish between regulated and unregulated activity, which can mislead consumers into thinking that it all enjoys the same protection, according to a review by the Financial Conduct Authority.
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February 16, 2024
Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Gets 22 Months For Insider Dealing
A former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced at a London court on Friday to 22 months in prison for insider dealing after he was convicted of using price-sensitive information gleaned from his job at the investment bank to trade in company shares.
Expert Analysis
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High Court Ruling Clarifies Notice Under Swaps Agreement
The English High Court's recent decision in Macquarie v. Phelan Energy, the first judgment to consider the validity of a failure-to-pay notice under the 2002 International Swaps and Derivatives Association master agreement, gives important guidance to financial institutions and derivatives trading participants about the level of accuracy required in those notices, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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The FTX Fallout So Far And What May Come Next
While the downfall of FTX is likely to cause substantial losses and lead to extensive litigation, it will hopefully precipitate a renewed focus on regulating the crypto market in a responsible way that gives more protection to consumers, says Dan Wyatt at RPC.
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A Look At The Swath Of Claims Amazon Faces Worldwide
The increasing number of claims against Amazon may well be a sign of the EU regulatory regime on the horizon for digital gatekeepers and the developing area of collective proceedings in the U.K., says David Greene at Edwin Coe.
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Link Ruling Shows FCA's Wide Change-In-Control Powers
The Financial Conduct Authority's recent decision regarding the proposed acquisition of Link Fund Solutions is a reminder that the regulator has significant powers to attach conditions to its approvals and the advent of the Financial Services and Markets Bill could lead to the widening of those powers, say Charlotte Hill and Daniel Hirschfield at Taylor Wessing.
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Understanding The EU's New Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The European Parliament’s newly adopted Foreign Subsidies Regulation extends already wide-ranging European Union state aid powers and adds new layers of deal conditionality, so companies will need to carefully consider how the regulation may affect their EU-bound activities, say Peter Camesasca and Sophie Bertin at Covington.
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Hard Insurance Market Will Influence Legal Industry, Economy
As the cost of claims starts to outstrip the value of premiums, insurers are denying more claims and considering scaling back coverage, leading to an influx of legal work and potential holes in the market, says Bruce Hepburn at Mactavish.
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Digital Nomads: Key Considerations For Global Businesses
As employers and employees embrace remote, location-independent work arrangements enabled by technology, they must be mindful of the employment law and tax consequences such arrangements may trigger, say Hannah Wilkins and Audrey Elliott at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Navigating Newly Expanded English Jurisdictional Gateways
With a recent significant change, the English courts' territorial jurisdiction is now primarily controlled by the question of whether England is the proper place to bring the claim, so parties to cross-border disputes seeking to resist the jurisdiction of the English courts should focus their arguments on this battleground, say Antony Corsi and Gill Davy at Norton Rose.
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New License Eases Sanctioned Clients' Legal Fee Payments
The general license recently issued by the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation permitting the payment of legal fees owed by a sanctioned company or individual will potentially reduce the agency's backlog and is welcome news for both lawyers and OFSI staff, say Zulfi Meerza and Syed Rahman at Rahman Ravelli.
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Preparation Is Key To Businesses Minimizing Cyber Breaches
A recently published report by the U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on organizational experiences of cybersecurity breaches highlights the importance of having breach response policies in place and being able to demonstrate that reasonable preventive and risk management steps were taken, says Lawson Caisley at White & Case.
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Scope Of Brexit Freedoms Bill Unclear For Financial Services
The revocation provisions of the recently published Brexit Freedoms Bill do not apply to legislation affected by the Financial Services and Markets Bill, and the complex overlay between the two pieces of legislation may lead to uncertainty for the financial services industry, say Barney Reynolds and Thomas Donegan at Shearman.
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UK Policyholders Can Expect Better COVID Claims Handling
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority recently outlined some best practices for COVID-19 business interruption claims handling, which, along with recent High Court of Justice decisions, will likely lead to faster claims handling and clearer insurer communication, say Gurpreet Sanghera and Charlie Edwards at Simkins.
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EU Basel III Bank Reforms May Weaken Securities Market
Recent proposals from the Council of the European Union's review of Basel III bank capital regulatory reforms did not adopt substantive changes urged by the market for the securitization framework, and may have a dampening effect on the competitiveness of European securitizations, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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What To Expect From EU's Data Governance Act
The European Commission's Data Governance Act, which will go into effect next September, marks a clear step forward for data regulation in the EU, but some confusion remains regarding which companies will be considered data intermediation services, say attorneys at Pierstone.
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FCA Holds The Cards Where Redress Schemes Are Concerned
The recent U.K. High Court Amigo Loans decision shows the Financial Conduct Authority's willingness to engage with a proposed redress scheme or oppose it where necessary, and highlights the agency's unique power to allow business to continue in these cases, say Frances Coulson and Christopher Burt at Wedlake Bell.