Financial Services UK

Supreme Court Car Finance Verdict Slashes Lender Exposure

The U.K. Supreme Court's landmark decision Friday to reverse most of the Court of Appeal's judgment on hidden motor finance commissions has sharply narrowed the scope of any future redress scheme from the Financial Conduct Authority — an outcome critics said favored lenders and car dealers over consumer protection.

Hand using laptop and show malware screen with phishing email, hack password and personal data.

Looser SMCR May Leave Banks More Open To Fraud Charges

The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed partial relaxation of the approval process under its senior managers regime as the U.K. pushes for deregulation could leave companies more exposed to fraud prosecution as the failure to prevent fraud offense goes live in September.

Downing Street and Whitehall street signs, London

UK Top Court's Leeway On Sanctions Could Embolden Gov't

The respect shown by the U.K. Supreme Court to the British government on foreign affairs could encourage ministers to use sanctions in unforeseen ways, allowing politicians to achieve policy goals that are limited by legal challenges, lawyers say.

Southend Court House in Southend-on-Sea, Essex

Traders' Win Casts Doubt On Plans For No-Jury Fraud Trials

Repeated failure by the courts to ensure that two former traders imprisoned for rigging benchmark interest rates were given a fair trial has fueled criticism of radical reforms to roll back jury trials in complex fraud cases to ease pressure on the judicial system.

August 05, 2025
Barclays Defends Firing Banker Over Alleged Fee Cover-Up

A Barclays PLC subsidiary told an employment tribunal on Tuesday that it was entitled to fire an ex-investment banker for allegedly attempting to conceal an error in client interest fees, saying it conducted a thorough investigation and denying the ex-employee's unfair dismissal claims.
August 05, 2025
City Body Urges FCA To Clarify AML Rules For Digital Assets

A City of London trade body has urged the Financial Conduct Authority to clarify in its future regulations for stablecoin issuers how anti-money laundering rules will apply for digital assets.
August 05, 2025
Companies House To Roll Out Compulsory ID Verification

Companies House said Tuesday that from November this year it will require company directors to verify their identities, the latest move in the registrar's rollout of heightened powers to protect against fraud.
August 05, 2025
AML Reforms Are Missed Opportunity, Law Society Says

The government's proposed updates to anti-money laundering regulations will do little to ease the compliance burden on law firms and are a "missed opportunity" to cut unnecessary rules, the body representing solicitors said on Tuesday.
August 05, 2025
Football Club Owner Accused Of Dodging $93M Share Deal

An investment vehicle has sued John Textor, the former owner of Crystal Palace FC, for allegedly refusing to buy its stake in his company that owns a portfolio of football clubs for $93.6 million, which it claimed is required under an investment deal.
August 05, 2025
FCA Warns Claims Cos. Against Misleading Car Finance Ads

The Financial Conduct Authority has told claims management companies in a letter to review financial advertising for motor finance claims, after seeing misleading redress rates from the sector and law firms.
August 05, 2025
FCA Issues £46M In Fines For Woodford Fund Failures

The Financial Conduct Authority has provisionally hit Neil Woodford and Woodford Investment Management with fines totaling £46 million ($61 million) for alleged failures in their management of a flagship £3.7 billion fund that led to its high-profile collapse in 2019.
August 04, 2025
StanChart Can't Withhold Docs In £1.5B Iran Sanctions Case

Standard Chartered on Monday lost a bid to withhold regulatory documents from investors suing the bank for £1.5 billion ($2 billion) for allegedly making untrue or misleading statements about its noncompliance with sanctions.
August 04, 2025
Court Freezes Couple's £5M Over Alleged Misuse Of Co. Cash

A London court granted a freezing order Monday worth more than £5.1 million ($6.8 million) against a married couple accused of siphoning funds from a holding company, finding that there is a real risk that they will scatter their assets.
August 04, 2025
Sellers To Pay £5M For Hiding Breaches In Education Biz Sale

The sellers of a military education business must pay more than £5.2 million ($6.9 million) in damages to the buyer after a court held Monday they had breached the terms of the deal by not disclosing violating funding regulations.
August 04, 2025
VC Firm Beats Ex-Rosenblatt Firm's Legal Bill Appeal

A venture capital firm beat a City law firm's appeal over costs the firm claimed to be owed for its representation under a conditional fee agreement when a London judge ruled that the financial business could not be criticized for raising an argument late in its dispute about whether it was liable to pay the legal bill.
August 04, 2025
Pensions Dashboards Could Ease UK Inheritance Tax 'Chaos'

The government could use new online retirement savings portals to ease the expected chaos around introducing inheritance tax on pension wealth, a professional services company said Monday.
August 04, 2025
Accountancy Boss Denies Siphoning Funds During Exit Talks

A businessman accused of wrongly extracting at least £850,000 ($1.1 million) from an accountancy has denied this was a conspiracy to harm the firm and claimed he was taking out money he considered at the time that he and his wife were owed.
August 04, 2025
UBS To Pay DOJ $300M To Settle Inherited Credit Suisse Case

Swiss bank UBS said Monday it has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Justice $300 million to settle outstanding obligations inherited from the mortgage-backed securities business of Credit Suisse, the lender it acquired in 2023.
August 04, 2025
Motor Finance Redress Scheme Could Reach £18B, FCA Says

The Financial Conduct Authority has proposed a compensation program for motor finance customers after a landmark U.K. Supreme Court decision on Friday found signs that consumers were being treated unfairly, as the watchdog estimated that the cost could reach £18 billion ($24 billion).
August 01, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Wachtell, Latham

In this week's Taxation With Representation, Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. announce megamerger plans, Palo Alto Networks acquires identity security company CyberArk, Brookfield buys British life insurer Just Group, and Duke Energy sells its Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee local distribution business to Spire Inc.
August 01, 2025
Ex-AllSaints Chair In Contempt Over Share Sale Fraud Claims

A London court ruled Friday that the former chairman of AllSaints was in contempt of court for breaching an order to stop claiming an interest in shares in the high street fashion chain after his fraud allegations were rejected.
August 01, 2025
Gov't Fines UK Biz For Russia Sanctions Breach

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has fined U.K.‑based business support services provider Markom Management Ltd. for violating financial sanctions tied to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
August 01, 2025
Barclays Adviser Wrongly Fired Over Sexual Remarks

A former Barclays employee was unfairly dismissed for making sexual comments to female colleagues, but he could have been fairly dismissed for the same conduct, according to a Glasgow tribunal ruling.
August 01, 2025
Top Court Hands Banks Partial Win Over Motor Finance Fees

Car finance providers won a partial victory in a landmark case over commission payments on Friday when the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that they did not owe a duty to provide customers with information about the fees, potentially avoiding a multibillion-pound compensation scheme.
August 01, 2025
FCA Widens Crypto ETN Access To Boost Competitiveness

The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it will lift its ban on retail access to cryptocurrency exchange‑traded notes from Oct. 8, allowing individual investors to buy these products through U.K.‑listed trading venues.
August 01, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen several telco giants hit with a trademark claim, a collapsed hotel company sue a property investor in an ongoing dispute over a decades-old hotel sale, and two litigation funders square off against each other.
August 01, 2025
Ogilvy & Wachtel-Led Investors Oppose Hedge Fund Merger

A group of investors in Third Point told fellow shareholders in the hedge fund on Friday that the proposed merger with Malibu Life Reinsurance will establish "a dangerous precedent for the U.K. stock market" of not safeguarding interests of the minority.
August 01, 2025
FCA Hits Brokerage With £1M Fine For Deal Report Failures

The City watchdog said Friday that it has hit a global brokerage with a fine of more than £1 million ($1.3 million) for the "particularly serious" failure to submit complete and accurate transaction reports over a five-year period.
July 31, 2025
Asset Freeze Sticks In Billionaire's $415M Fraud Case

A London appeals court on Thursday upheld an asset freeze against a man accused of defrauding Ricardo Salinas Pliego out of more than $415 million, finding no reason to doubt the Mexican billionaire is "exceedingly wealthy" and able to compensate the other side if he ultimately loses his claim.

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

Key Points From EU Proposals To Ease Securitization Rules

The European Commission’s recently proposed securitization framework amendments aim to relax existing rules, such as by reducing due diligence requirements and removing the need for investors to conduct certain prescribed compliance verifications by sponsors or original lenders, say lawyers at McDermott.
High Court Elects Substance Over Form In Arbitration Dispute

The High Court recently found that an arbitral tribunal has jurisdiction over the dispute in Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority v. India, underscoring the importance of aligning treaty interpretation with the goal of fostering investment, while rejecting interpretations that unduly limit investor protections, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
What New UK Stub Equity Rules Will Mean For PE Bidders

The U.K. Takeover Panel’s recent guide to making stub equity offers, for the first time formally harmonizing the approach to be taken, should be helpful for both private equity bidders and practitioners, and not unduly restrictive, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
What To Expect As FCA Preps To Launch AI Testing Service

The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming artificial intelligence live testing service will provide participants with access to appropriate regulatory expertise, but to gauge the tool’s potential utility, it is important to understand how it fits in with what the regulator is already doing, says Omar Salem at Fox Williams.
New Interpol Silver Notice Could Be Tool For Justice Or Abuse

Interpol has issued dozens of Silver Notices to trace and recover assets linked to criminal activity since January, and though the tool may disrupt organized crime and terrorist financing, attorneys must protect against the potential for corrupt misuse, say attorneys at Clark Hill and Arktouros.
Weighing PE Transaction Risks As EU AI Act Rolls Out

As the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act becomes effective in stages, legal practitioners involved in private equity deals should consider the transactional risks resulting from this measure, including penalties, extraterritorial reach and target-firm applicability, say lawyers at Covington.
EU Banking Watchdog Regulations Herald New AML Era

The European Banking Authority’s forthcoming anti-money laundering package will set a framework for compliance across the European Union by redefining the rules of engagement between financial institutions and supervisors, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies

While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
What Insurers Can Do To Prepare For PRA 'Solvent Exit' Rules

With less than a year until the Prudential Regulation Authority's new solvent exit rules for insurers come into force, it is critical that firms prepare to meet the imminent deadline by outlining an execution plan and establishing clear governance arrangements, say lawyers at Holman Fenwick.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: UK Injunctions Across Borders

A recent High Court of Justice decision allowing JPMorgan Chase Bank to block VTB Bank from bringing suit in a Russian court provides a seminal reflection on the power of English courts to issue antisuit injunctions when global banking disputes increasingly straddle multiple jurisdictions, says Josep Galvez of 4-5 Gray's Inn.
Identifying Data Center Investment Challenges, Opportunities

The role of data centers is expanding, as are new opportunities for private capital investors, but there are issues to consider, including finance models and contract complexity, as well as power supply, cyber threat resilience and data sovereignty, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
What EU Bank Regulator's Letter Means For Crypto Providers

A recent letter from the European Banking Authority notes a need to avoid dual authorization for e-money token transactions under European Union payment services and cryptocurrency regulations, which could result in a high regulatory burden for crypto-asset service providers and leaves open questions for future political negotiations, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
How Regulators Want Online Platforms To Fight Finance Fraud

Recent statements from the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the European Securities and Markets Authority make clear that online platform providers are expected to adopt proactive measures to prevent the promotion of unauthorized financial services and related misconduct, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
FCA Notes Industry Criticism But Keeps Transparency Focus

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated enforcement guide finally gives up the "naming and shaming" public interest test, demonstrating that the regulator has recognized the industry's serious concerns while maintaining less contentious aspects of its proposals to improve transparency in investigations, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.
Anticipating A Shift In CMA Merger Control Enforcement

As the Competition and Markets Authority outlines plans to put the U.K. government's growth objectives into action, the changes may well pave the way for a more permissive outlook for review of mergers and acquisitions in the U.K., say lawyers at A&O Shearman.