Financial Services UK

Individual cryptocurrency coins on view on a black surface.

How Mishcon Helped Uncover £5.6B Money Laundering Plot

Law360 examines here how a suspicious activity report raised by Mishcon de Reya about a client's attempted transactions served as the catalyst for one of the biggest cryptocurrency seizures in British history.

FCA Oversight Spells Tougher AML Scrutiny For Law Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority's new powers to police lawyers and other professionals could place law firms under a heightened supervisory regime similar to that of banks and other high-risk financial institutions, experts say.

'Name And Shame' Test Case Ruling Could Embolden FCA

Financial services companies should be ready to engage with consumers when faced with enforcement action, in a lesson from a test case of the reasoning behind a Financial Conduct Authority decision to "name and shame" a company that could encourage bolder naming actions, lawyers said.

'A Rare Case': How Credit Suisse Missed Out In Greensill Trial

The failure by Credit Suisse to claw back any money from Softbank over a restructuring agreement involving Greensill Capital is a rare example of a creditor succeeding in proving its legal case — only for the court to hold back any remedy.

November 19, 2025
FCA Says 3 Arrested In Suspected Fraudulent Debt Probe

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that three individuals have been arrested as it investigates suspected "unauthorized debt activity" that it believes targeted people facing repossession proceedings.
November 19, 2025
Gov't Promises To Decide Soon On Women Pensions Redress

The government said Wednesday that it is still working through evidence submitted as part of a judicial review into women's pension compensation, amid speculation ministers could be forced into a U-turn.
November 19, 2025
English Water Co. Pens £40M Pension Deal With Just Group

A pension scheme sponsored by an English water company has offloaded £40 million ($52.5 million) of its retirement scheme liabilities to Just Group, in a deal announced by Lane Clark & Peacock.
November 19, 2025
Lloyds Trims Arena TV Liquidators' £1.3B Fraud Case

Lloyds Bank PLC convinced a London court on Wednesday to ax a chunk of the £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in claims that accused the lender of failing to spot an alleged fraud by directors at a broadcast equipment company.
November 19, 2025
Fintech Firm Hits Back At Fox Williams Over 'Excessive' Fees

A financial technology company has hit back against a claim for unpaid fees brought by Fox Williams, saying the amount the law firm seeks for representing it in a dispute with a former employee is excessive.
November 19, 2025
Watchdog Tells Small Companies How To Improve Accounting

The accounting watchdog set out on Wednesday ways in which smaller companies listed on the London Stock Exchange should improve their financial reporting to investors.
November 19, 2025
Lloyds Acquires Payments Biz To Boost Digital Transformation

Lloyds Banking Group revealed on Wednesday that it has acquired Curve, a British digital wallet business, a move the banking group anticipates will broaden its online transformation.
November 19, 2025
Trustees Urged To Prioritize Data Before 'Dashboards' Launch

Pension plan trustees must treat their members' data as a strategic asset, the retirement savings watchdog has said, after its industry review revealed inconsistent quality that the regulator said must be addressed before the pensions dashboards project is launched.
November 19, 2025
UK Plans Collated Equity Data To Boost LSE Appeal

The City watchdog floated plans on Wednesday to collate data about trades of U.K. equities as it seeks to boost confidence and encourage participation in London markets, part of the government's growth agenda.
November 18, 2025
Boeing Owner Says Lessee Owes $29M In Unpaid Rent, Fees

The owner of a Boeing 737 aircraft has alleged that the company it leased its plane to owes it $29.3 million after failing to pay rent, a termination fee and repair costs for a damaged engine.
November 18, 2025
Belgian Investor Sells Half Its Holding In Recycler For €300M

Belgian investment holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert said Tuesday that it has sold approximately half of its holding in Umicore, a Brussels-based recycling company, for €300 million ($348.2 million).
November 18, 2025
EU Targets Financial Cyber Risks With New IT Provider Rules

The three financial watchdogs of the European Union named on Tuesday the designated third-party providers of critical information and communication technology for finance companies, which it will regulate directly.
November 18, 2025
Kuwaiti Pension Chief's Heirs Fight To Avoid $1B Fraud Debt

The children of a former Kuwaiti pensions fund director told an appeals court on Tuesday that they should not be held liable for their now-dead father's alleged $1 billion fraud debt, arguing that successors outside the English jurisdiction cannot be forced to pay.
November 18, 2025
40% Of Pension Trustees Would Consider 'Surplus Release'

Four in 10 pension trustees would consider tapping into defined benefit surpluses in what represents a "vast amount of capital" that could be reinvested in the economy, a law firm said Tuesday.
November 18, 2025
Pensions Lifeboat Retains Zero Levy On UK Schemes

The Pension Protection Fund said it would retain its zero levy on workplace retirement plans in the next financial year, provided new legislation is successfully passed by then.
November 18, 2025
State Pension Shortfall Highlights Retiree Savings Gap

A single pensioner maintaining a minimum standard of living in 2025 would "theoretically run out of money" on Nov. 22 if their only source of retirement was the state pension, analysis by Just Group shows.
November 17, 2025
UK Lifeboat Fund To Boost Deposit Protection To £120K

The Bank of England said Tuesday that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will increase the limit for reimbursement on deposits held by customers of failed banks to £120,000 ($158,000) from December.
November 17, 2025
Solicitor Faces Tribunal Over Allegations Of Misleading Client

A criminal defense solicitor fought allegations in a London disciplinary tribunal Monday that he had instructed a client to falsely deny allegations of corruption and to fabricate a narrative for their high-profile trial.
November 17, 2025
UK Life Insurers Show Resilience In 2025 Stress Tests

The Bank of England said Monday that it has found in a stress test that major life insurers can withstand large market shocks — but some are unprepared for risky outcomes from transferring responsibility for pension payouts through funded reinsurance.
November 17, 2025
Trafigura Accuses Gupta Of $600M Sham Nickel Trade At Trial

Trading company Trafigura told the High Court on Monday that Prateek Gupta and his companies defrauded it out of $600 million in a sham nickel trade, opening a long-awaited trial over Trafigura's purchase of purported nickel shipments that turned out to be "worthless."
November 17, 2025
Ex-McFaddens Client Can't Revive Late Loan Advice Claim

A former client of McFaddens LLP cannot revive her claim that the law firm gave her negligent advice over a missold loan, after a judge ruled Monday that her filing key details of the case late was "a serious and significant" breach.
November 17, 2025
CMS, Freshfields Steer £600M Aviva, Wolseley Pension Deal

Wolseley Group, the U.K.'s largest specialist merchant for plumbing, heating, cooling and infrastructure products, has offloaded pension liabilities worth £600 million ($790 million) to insurance giant Aviva in a deal guided by Freshfields and CMS, the insurer said Monday.
November 17, 2025
Fraudulent Insurance Claims Continue To Top £1B A Year

Fraudulent claims in the U.K. general insurance sector rose again in 2024, with those linked to motor cover driving much of the increase, the Association of British Insurers warned on Monday.
November 17, 2025
Hacker Ordered To Forfeit £4M In Crypto After Twitter Heist

A London court has ordered an aspiring web developer to pay back £4.1 million ($5.4 million) worth of cryptocurrency after he was convicted of hacking high-profile Twitter accounts and money laundering in the U.S.
November 17, 2025
SocGen To Launch An Additional €1B Share Buyback Program

Société Générale said Monday it will roll out a new €1 billion ($1.2 billion) share repurchase program, a move expected to lower its outstanding share capital.

Editor's Picks

5 Questions For Spencer West Partner Karl Foster

The Financial Conduct Authority's approach to enforcement and consumer protection has come up against government economic growth priorities and resistance from the sector to its proposals to "name and shame" companies early on during regulatory probes.
UK Draft Pay Fraud Rules Open Tricky Legal Liabilities

The government's new draft legislation, which will give banks longer to investigate suspicions of fraud before they send payments instructed by customers, will create a wave of new legal liabilities and lead to regulatory hurdles, according to lawyers.
FCA Fires Warning Shot Over City's Consumer Duty Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority has sent out a fresh warning to financial services companies highlighting how some of them are failing to comply with its Consumer Duty regime. But experts have told Law360 that the expectations are unclear.

Expert Analysis

FCA Proposals Reduce Consumer Duty Compliance Burden

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to streamline the consumer duty regime represent a pragmatic response to industry concerns, with a move toward sector-specific supervision and potentially narrowing its scope for wholesale and cross-border business, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
How New Companies House ID Rules Affect Businesses

Lawyers at Shepherd & Wedderburn discuss the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act’s new mandatory identity verification requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control, set to go live next week, which aim to curb fraud by improving the reliability of information held by Companies House.
What EU Securitization Proposals Signal For Risk Transfers

If implemented, recent amendments to the European Union securitization framework are expected to have an unambiguously positive effect on significant risk transfer markets, providing greater consistency and necessary flexibility, say lawyers at McDermott.
Role Of UK Investment Act Is Evolving In M&A Deals

With merger and acquisition activity likely to increase in light of the government’s new defense industrial strategy, the role of the National Security and Investment Act will come into sharper focus, and its recent annual report confirms that scrutiny is intensifying, say lawyers at Kingsley Napley.
What To Know About EU's Reimposition Of Sanctions On Iran

Lawyers at Steptoe discuss the European Union’s recent reimposition of trade and financial sanctions against Iran, which will introduce legal and operational constraints that affect EU companies' commercial activities in the region.
FCA Crypto Proposals Herald Tougher Oversight For Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to extend regulation to crypto-asset activities will bring parity, but implementation of the operational resilience requirements and enhanced financial crime controls will present compliance challenges, says Michelle Kirschner at Gibson Dunn.
EU Investment Reporting Rules Letup Signals Pragmatic Shift

While investment companies remain subject to far-reaching disclosure obligations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, new guidance from the European Commission on reporting passive limited partner commitments represents a drastic simplification and burden reduction, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.
SFO's 2-Year Transformation Signals Crackdown On Fraud

Two years after Nick Ephgrave’s appointment as director of the Serious Fraud Office, the introduction of new corporate criminal offenses and strengthened investigative methods sends a clear message to corporations that the agency is delivering on its promise to be bolder and more proactive about tackling fraud, say lawyers at BCL Solicitors.
How EU And UK Consumer Loan Protections Are Shifting

As market evolution and digitalization motivate both the European Union and the U.K. to revamp consumer protections around lending, the potential for divergence between these rules will pose new challenges for cross-border consumer credit lenders, say lawyers at Skadden.
EBA Guidance Shakes Up EU Securitization Market Practices

Although the European Banking Authority’s recent questioning of the common use of conditional sale agreements to season assets when setting up securitizations has come as an unwelcome surprise, competent regulators are expected to follow the EBA guidance, even though as a Q&A response it is not legally binding, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Landmark VAT Ruling Should Shift HMRC Reply On Guidance

The recent decision in Hotelbeds Ltd. v. Revenue and Customs Commissioners on the recovery of input tax, confirming that HMRC is bound to comply with its own guidance, will make the agency rethink its usual response to allegations that the policy was not law, say lawyers at Kennedys.
Evolving General Partner Stakes Market Brings Opportunities

The rapid increase in investment in general partner stakes by private capital managers indicates its advantages over both strategic sales and initial public offerings, including the ability to retain greater operational control over the business and to avoid the scrutiny that accompanies a listing, says Nicholas Page at Macfarlanes.
How UK Proposal On Late Payments Could Affect SMEs

The U.K. government’s ongoing late payments consultation would claw back much-needed leverage for small and midsize enterprises negotiating with large organizations, should the reforms be implemented as proposed, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
Waldorf Ruling Signals Recalibration For Restructuring Plans

The recent High Court landmark judgment refusing to sanction Waldorf Production PLC's restructuring plan underscores a change in the way courts assess whether such plans are fair, indicating not their demise but a pivotal moment in their evolution, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.
Key Points From UK And Japan's Antitrust Cooperation Pact

The memorandum of cooperation recently signed between the U.K. and Japan to promote collaboration in competition law enforcement is a meaningful step that offers cross-border businesses an improved foundation for earlier alignment and better risk management, say lawyers at Steptoe.