Financial Services UK

Bigger Isn't Better In £25B Pensions Megafund Reform

The U.K. government unveiled on Thursday a sweeping reform program to drive the creation of new pension megafunds with the firepower to invest more in the U.K. economy — but experts warn this could stifle competition and "put a gun" to providers' heads.

Entrance to the UK Supreme Court in London

UK Supreme Court Boosts Creditor Protection In Fraud Cases

Britain's highest court has handed administrators more power to pursue businesses that turn a blind eye to fraud, with a ruling on Wednesday that will bolster protection for creditors and could raise the stakes for companies flying too close to the wind, lawyers say.

Financial Analyst Working on Computer with Multi-Monitor Workstation

Draft UK Crypto-Regulations Facing Teething Troubles

The government's new crypto-assets regime will be unenforceable across borders and could deter fledgling companies from working in the country, meaning that the financial watchdog will face early challenges to its attempts to protect British consumers in a volatile global marketplace.

FCA Set To Get Enforcement Boost From New Fraud Offense

The new "failure to prevent" fraud offense that comes into force in September will indirectly boost the Financial Conduct Authority's opportunities for enforcement against corporate senior managers, countering its recent retreat from plans to "name and shame" companies it is investigating, lawyers say.

June 03, 2025
Irish Court Says US Co.'s Irish Units Not Owed Treaty Benefits

Three Irish subsidiaries cannot benefit from the U.S.-Ireland tax treaty's provision of equally favorable treatment between U.S. and Irish residents because their ultimate parent entity, a Delaware financial firm, is disregarded for U.S. tax purposes, Ireland's Court of Appeal said in a judgment.
June 03, 2025
Lawyer Given Suspended Sentence In Germany Over Cum-Ex

A business lawyer who was partly responsible for running a €428 million ($488 million) tax fraud scheme was issued a suspended sentence of almost two years, according to a verdict Tuesday in a Bonn court.
June 03, 2025
Insurer Seeks £34M From Cigna For Missold PPI Complaints

PA (GI) Ltd. said it is entitled to recover from Cigna more than £34 million ($46 million) it has spent dealing with missold payment protection insurance claims, arguing at trial on Tuesday that it dealt with those complaints in the "fairest" and "most cost-effective" way.
June 03, 2025
New FCA Enforcement Guide Revises Rules On Case Publicity

The Financial Conduct Authority on Tuesday released its revised enforcement guide, setting out additional circumstances when it may publicize investigations.
June 03, 2025
NMC Health Fraud Was 'Systematic,' Administrator Testifies

An NMC Health administrator on Tuesday said that the healthcare group's financial statements were "structured to conceal" the group's real financial position including $3.8 billion of unreported debt, as he testified during the London trial against the group's auditors, EY.
June 03, 2025
Ex-Hedge Fund Analyst Driven By Greed, FCA Tells Jurors

A former hedge fund analyst roped his sister, his best friend and the best friend's girlfriend into a "rigged" insider trading scheme from their small flats during the COVID-19 pandemic for a "very old" yet "very simple" reason, prosecutors told jurors in London on Tuesday — "greed."
June 03, 2025
Media Biz Founder Sues BC Partners Unit Over €200M Bonus

A business controlled by the founder of United Group BV has accused the private equity-owned holding company of the telecommunications firm of refusing to pay a €200 million ($228 million) bonus allegedly due on the €1.5 billion sale of two subsidiaries.
June 03, 2025
FRC Simplifies Reporting Rules For UK Asset Managers

The accounting regulator published its updated 2026 UK Stewardship Code on Tuesday, pruning back the reporting burden by between 20% and 30% for many large asset managers and investment groups.
June 03, 2025
UK Retirement Costs Drop As Energy Prices Ease

The estimated cost for a minimum standard of living in retirement has fallen for both one- and two-person households, a trade body for the sector said Tuesday, driven largely by a "substantial reduction" in U.K. energy costs.
June 03, 2025
SFO Launches Probe Into Local Council Solar Bond Fraud

The Serious Fraud Office announced on Tuesday that it has launched an investigation into an alleged solar farm bond fraud after failed investments forced an English council into bankruptcy.
June 02, 2025
Remote Workers Take German Tax Case To EU's Top Court

The European Court of Justice said Monday it will hear the case of two taxpayers against a German regional tax authority over whether Swiss residents working remotely are taxable in Germany.
June 02, 2025
CJEU Set To Hear SocGen's Case In Swedish Tax Dispute

The Court of Justice of the European Union said Monday that it will hear the case of French banking giant Société Générale SA against the Swedish tax authority over the taxation of nonresident companies under the European treaty.
June 02, 2025
FCA Pledges Action On Insurers Over Client Harm Complaints

The Financial Conduct Authority has said it will act where it finds general insurers harm consumers following a complaint by Which?, the advocacy group, which includes a petition signed by 170,000 consumers.
June 02, 2025
AI Use Soars Among UK Cos. Despite Rising Cyber-Risks

More than 90% of U.K. businesses are either looking at or already using artificial intelligence tools, despite a vast number believing that cyberthreats are on the rise, according to research by insurer QBE released Monday.
June 02, 2025
Gov't Told To Provide Timeline On Private Sector Dashboards

The U.K. government must publish a roadmap for the introduction of private sector pension "dashboards," a trade body said Monday, warning that officials will fail to hit targets for public engagement without making the service widely accessible.
June 02, 2025
FCA Pushes Mutual Fund Managers For Faster Settlements

The Financial Conduct Authority has said mutual fund managers should take steps now to speed up fund settlements under the Consumer Duty, in alignment with a planned faster settlement cycle for trades in shares and bonds.
June 02, 2025
Finance Biz TP ICAP Buys Squire Patton-Led Data Co.

Financial services company TP ICAP Group PLC said Monday that it has bought independent data business Neptune Networks, which is owned by a consortium of global banks.
June 02, 2025
Aircraft Parts Co. Director In Court On Fraud Charges

A director of an aircraft parts supply company appeared at a London criminal court on Monday accused of falsifying documents used in sales of engine parts to airlines around the globe.
May 30, 2025
UK Audit Regulator Finalizes Project To Unlock Financial Data

Britain's accounting regulator said on Friday that it has now completed an 18-month project designed to make structured financial data more accessible in the U.K.
May 30, 2025
Isle Of Man Agrees To Work With UK Against Tax Avoidance

Isle of Man authorities reached an agreement with the U.K. government to work together in a crackdown on promoters of tax avoidance schemes, according to a joint statement.
May 30, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Entain face yet more investor claims in the fallout from its bribery probe, UEFA face class action from Liverpool fans over chaos at the 2022 World Cup, and a venture capitalist sue journalists for misuse of his private information over a forged police report. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
May 30, 2025
FCA Names Ex-Pensions Minister Head Of Consumer Panel

The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday that it has appointed Chris Pond, a former work and pensions minister, as chair of an independent panel that advises the regulator on consumer issues.
May 30, 2025
FCA Wins OK For £1M Fine On Pensions Transfer Pros

The finance watchdog said Friday that a tribunal has approved its decision to ban two financial advisers from working in financial services and impose approximately £1 million ($1.3 million) in fines over their pension transfers that put clients' retirement money at risk.
May 30, 2025
Pension Credit Applications Rise 28% Since Winter Fuel Cut

The number of applications for pension credit in the U.K. increased 28% in the past year since the government said that it will ax winter fuel payments for millions of retirees, Department for Work and Pensions data shows.
May 30, 2025
Pension Adviser Declared In Default Over Unpaid Claims

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme confirmed on Friday that a pensions advisory company has been declared in default after it was unable to pay out on claims brought by clients.

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

UK Securities Tax Reform Will Be Welcomed By Investors

The proposed reforms resulting from HM Revenue & Customs' recent consultation on modernizing stamp taxes on shares, suggesting a single digital tax on securities to replace stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax, are expected to reduce complexity for investors transacting in U.K. securities, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
UK Capital Reforms May Help Startup Founders, VC Investors

Hidden in the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on the definition of capital for investment firms are changes to the eligibility requirements for instruments to be included in a firm's regulatory capital — changes that may reduce the risk of investing, especially in early-stage fintech firms, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.
EU Watchdog's ESG Dashboard Raises Transparency Bar

The European Banking Authority’s recently introduced ESG dashboard is a key tool in aligning financial institutions with the European Union's sustainability policies, and fundamentally alters the risk environment by transitioning climate-related data from a compliance afterthought to a core component of strategic decision-making, says Kristýna Tupá at Schönherr.
What To Note As HM Treasury, FCA Plan New Crypto Regs

Taken together, HM Treasury’s recently proposed crypto-asset regulations and the Financial Conduct Authority’s new discussion paper on regulating crypto-asset activities provide key insights into the government's planned regime, which represents significant changes that will affect all firms providing related services, says Mark Chalmers at Davis Polk.
Tools For Effective Asset Tracking In Offshore Jurisdictions

In light of a technology company's recent allegations that its former CEO maintained an undisclosed interest in offshore companies, practitioners may want to refresh their knowledge of the tool kit available for tracing and recovering allegedly misappropriated assets from both onshore and offshore jurisdictions, say lawyers at Walkers Global.
FCA Review Highlights Valuation Standards For Private Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent review of private funds valuation practices underscores the increasing importance of conducting robust and independent procedures, offering an opportunity for fund managers to strengthen their current valuation frameworks and improve investor confidence, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
What Santander Fraud Ruling Means For UK Banking Sector

A London court's recent judgment in Santander v. CCP Graduate School held that a bank does not owe any duty to third-party victims of authorized push payment fraud, reaffirming the steps banks are already taking to protect their own customers from sophisticated fraud mechanisms, say lawyers at Charles Russell.
FCA Update Eases Private Stock Market Disclosure Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated proposals for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System would result in less onerous disclosure obligations for businesses, reflecting ongoing efforts to balance an attractive trading venue for private companies while maintaining sufficient investor protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Key Questions As Court Mulls Traders' Libor Convictions

The U.K. Supreme Court is considering whether to overturn two traders’ Libor and Euribor manipulation convictions, with the appeal reinvigorating debate over the breadth of English common law’s conspiracy to defraud offense and raising questions about the limits of a judge’s role in criminal jury trials, says Ellen Gallagher at Vardags.
Expect Complex Ruling From UK Justices In Car Dealer Case

While recent arguments before the U.K. Supreme Court in a consumer test case on motor finance commissions reveal the court’s take on several points argued, application of the upcoming decision will be both nuanced and fact-sensitive, so market participants wishing to prepare do not have a simple task, says Tom Grodecki at Cadwalader.
How UK Proposals Would Simplify Fund Manager Regime

The ongoing HM Treasury consultation and Financial Conduct Authority call for input on the future regulation of alternative investment fund managers indicate that deliberate steps are being taken to make the AIF regime more suitable for the U.K. market, with the aim of encouraging growth and competitiveness, says Leonard Ng at Sidley.
FCA's Regulatory Plans Signal Cause For Cautious Optimism

The Financial Conduct Authority’s latest strategy document plans for less intrusive supervision, a more open and collaborative approach, and a focus on assertive action where needed, outlining a vision of deepened trust and rebalanced risk that will be welcomed by all those it regulates, says Imogen Makin at WilmerHale.
What Latest VC Model Document Revisions Offer UK Investors

Recent updates to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association model documents, reflecting prevailing U.K. market practice on early-stage equity financing terms and increasing focus on compliance issues, provide needed protection for investors in relation to the growth in global foreign direct investment regimes, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
FCA's Odey Decision Is Wake-Up Call For Financial Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority recently banned hedge fund boss Crispin Odey from working in financial services, underscoring the critical importance the regulator places on whether individuals are fit and proper to perform regulated activities, and the connection between nonfinancial misconduct and the integrity of the financial markets, say lawyers at Pallas Partners.
What To Know About FCA's UK Listing Rules Proposal

A recent consultation paper from the Financial Conduct Authority aims to streamline the securities-listing process for U.K.-regulated markets, including by allowing issuers to submit a single application for all securities of the same class, and aligning the disclosure standards for low-denomination and wholesale bonds, say lawyers at Debevoise.