Financial Services UK

  • May 08, 2024

    Insurer Claims 400 Pension Deals Penned In 12 Years

    Insurer Just Group said Wednesday it has completed 400 pension transfer deals since it launched in 2012, adding that the year ahead is poised to break more records in the retirement savings de-risking market.

  • May 08, 2024

    Three Men Plead Not Guilty In £4M Water Investment Fraud

    Three men pleaded not guilty on Wednesday at a London court to defrauding investors out of £3.9 million ($4.9 million) through an unregulated investment scheme promising to build water production plants in Australia, New Zealand and Africa.

  • May 08, 2024

    Advertisers Fight For Class Action In Google Antitrust Case

    A group of advertisers fought for a green light for their class action against Google owner Alphabet on Wednesday, arguing that their case meets the requirements for a class proceedings order because there are serious issues of abuse of market dominance to be tried.

  • May 08, 2024

    Investment Cos. Ask Gov't To Settle Disclosure Uncertainties

    A trade body has asked the U.K. Treasury to decide now whether to remove investment companies from its planned post-Brexit regime covering disclosures firms must make before selling certain products to investors to resolve a current misleading cost figure.

  • May 08, 2024

    Litigation Funder Probably Owned By Sanctioned Oligarchs

    A court has found that there is "reasonable cause" to suspect that a litigation-funder that backs a $1.34 billion fraud claim from a collapsed Russian bank against its former owner is controlled by individuals sanctioned in the U.K.

  • May 07, 2024

    Banks, Regulators Holding Back SMEs, Lawmakers Say

    A parliamentary committee urged the financial watchdogs on Wednesday to review their approach to helping small and midsized businesses gain access to money, arguing that banks are making it "needlessly tougher" to take out loans and unfairly closing accounts of legitimate companies.

  • May 14, 2024

    Clifford Chance Hires Finance Pro From A&O Shearman

    Clifford Chance LLP said Tuesday that it has recruited a specialist in derivatives and structured finance from A&O Shearman, just a week after the new transatlantic giant's merger went live.

  • May 07, 2024

    Businessman Asks Top Court To Block £19M UAE Debt Claim

    A businessman's family took its fight with a UAE bank to Britain's highest court Tuesday over an alleged £19 million ($24 million) debt, arguing that the lender should not be allowed to collect on debts he says are illegitimate and a result of fraud.

  • May 07, 2024

    Pension Schemes Weigh Halting Employer Contributions

    Sustained improvements in funding levels for private sector pensions in the U.K. means that many defined benefit schemes are considering stopping contributions from sponsors to avoid overfunding, PwC has said.

  • May 07, 2024

    EU Watchdog Mulls Opening Funds To Riskier Investments

    The European Union's markets watchdog called Tuesday for market views on whether to expand the range of assets in which the most widely used type of investment fund can legally invest, to include crypto-assets as well as risky shares and bonds.

  • May 07, 2024

    FCA Bans Investment Firm's Ex-CEO For Misleading Clients

    The Financial Conduct Authority has fined the former chief executive of a London-based investment firm for misleading clients about cash held by the group and handed him a ban, according to a statement published Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    PwC, EY Hit With Fines Over LC&F Audit Failures

    The Financial Reporting Council said Tuesday that it has handed out fines totaling approximately £10 million ($12.5 million) to PwC, EY and a third accounting firm for failures during audits they carried out on London Capital & Finance before the investment company's high-profile collapse.

  • May 03, 2024

    HMRC Director Rejoins KPMG To Boost Tax Dispute Offering

    A former deputy director at HM Revenue & Customs has returned to KPMG as director of KPMG Law's tax disputes teams, the firm has announced.

  • May 03, 2024

    SRA Warns Law Firms On Improper Practices In Mass Claims

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority voiced concerns on Friday about law firms and legal professionals that handle mass claims involving financial services or products, saying that some are running up costs before they have even been instructed to act.

  • May 03, 2024

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

    The past week in London has seen rapper Ivorian Doll hit with a copyright claim, private members club Aspinalls file a claim against a Saudi sheikh, and Motorola Solutions file a claim against the British government on the heels of its dispute over losing a £400 million ($502 million) government contract. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • May 03, 2024

    EU Regulators To Report AML Suspects To Central Database

    The European Union's banking watchdog has said that national regulators can start reporting information on named individuals to the bloc's centralized anti-money laundering database from May, in a step further strengthening the fight against financial crime.

  • May 03, 2024

    Pensions Watchdog Targets More Scheme Consolidation

    The Pensions Regulator detailed on Friday 22 "priority outcomes" that will drive its work for the next three years, with policies reflecting its vision of "fewer, larger schemes" in the market, which a trade body described as ambitious.

  • May 03, 2024

    Frasers Group Drops €50M Case Against Morgan Stanley

    Retail giant Frasers Group PLC has withdrawn its €50 million ($54 million) legal claim in London against Morgan Stanley over a margin call of almost $1 billion on Hugo Boss stock options, the bank said Friday.

  • May 03, 2024

    Reed Smith Steers £136M Pension Deal For Savings Plan

    Insurer Just Group has taken on £136.3 million ($171.2 million) in liabilities from a retirement savings plan, advisers said, in a transaction steered by Reed Smith LLP. 

  • May 03, 2024

    Financial Adviser Convicted In Axiom Legal Fund Fraud Case

    A former financial adviser was convicted on Friday of siphoning £5.8 million ($7.3 million) from an investment fund using secret commission payments as part of a legal financing fraud.

  • May 02, 2024

    Whistleblower Claims Would 'Destroy' Autonomy, GC Was Told

    Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel testified Thursday in the criminal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that the company's chief operating officer didn't want a whistleblower's claims to get into court, telling him that while the "law" was on their side, "the facts look bad" and would "destroy Autonomy."

  • May 02, 2024

    HMRC Asked To Investigate Firm On Dodging Sanctions

    HM Revenue & Customs should investigate a German-owned garage door manufacturer for violating sanctions by importing products from Belarus into the U.K., but instead authorities brushed off the case and now the company might receive a license, a U.K. lawmaker said.

  • May 02, 2024

    Mastercard Appeals Jurisdiction Ruling In £10B Class Action

    Mastercard argued to a London appellate court Thursday that a £10 billion ($12.5 billion) class action over its swipe fees should be governed by the law of the jurisdiction covering the bank that processed the payment, rather than the jurisdiction of the customers who suffered the loss.

  • May 02, 2024

    BofA Beats Whistleblower Claim Without Settlement Defense

    An employment judge has ruled a whistleblower working for Bank of America did not breach the terms of a settlement when he brought fresh litigation against the bank — but still dismissed his claims for filing them too late.

  • May 02, 2024

    Financial Watchdog Boss Summoned Over Plan To ID Targets

    The head of the Financial Conduct Authority has been summoned to explain to lawmakers why he has not responded to their request to pause the watchdog's controversial plan to name the firms it probes amid mounting criticism that doing so could harm those later found innocent.

Expert Analysis

  • Accountability Is Key To Preventing Miscarriages Of Justice

    Author Photo

    The wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson and other recent cases show that in order to avoid future miscarriages of justice, there needs to be a fundamental reevaluation of how investigators, prosecutors and the Criminal Cases Review Commission operate, prioritizing stronger penalties and increased funding, say Thomas Walford at Expert Evidence International and policy analyst Gerald Frost.

  • 4 Compliance Considerations Under FCA Consumer Duty

    Author Photo

    Following the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent introduction of the new consumer duty regime, firms will need to be mindful of data protection implications when managing their compliance with the duty and data protection legislation, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.

  • What Could Come Of CFPB, EU Consumer Finance Collab

    Author Photo

    A recent joint statement from the European Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau focused on how technology is affecting consumers of financial services, potentially recognizing that legal protections are lacking because tech regulations lag behind its development, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • 6 Key Factors For Successful Cross-Border Dispute Mediation

    Author Photo

    The European landscape of cross-border disputes diverges markedly from the U.S. experience and presents unique challenges, including the amalgamation of diverse cultures and legal systems, but there are several practical steps that practitioners can take to effectively navigate the process, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.

  • Operational Resilience Considerations In Financial Services

    Author Photo

    A recent letter from the Financial Conduct Authority reminds CEOs of U.K. wholesale banks of their role in the safety and soundness of markets, but all firms can draw lessons and consider their own operational resilience for longer-term security and commercial benefit, says Richard Tall at Faegre Drinker.

  • UK Tech Cases Warn Of Liability Clause Drafting Pitfalls

    Author Photo

    The recent U.K. High Court cases Drax Energy Solutions v. Wipro and EE v. Virgin Mobile Telecoms indicate a more literal judicial approach to construing limitations of liability, even when this significantly limits a claimant's recoverable damages, highlighting the importance of carefully drafted liability provisions, say Helen Armstrong and Tania Williams at RPC.

  • How The UK Investment Screening Regime Is Taking Shape

    Author Photo

    A recent order imposing remedies on an acquisition by EDF Energy highlights emerging trends in the U.K. government's national security reviews of transactions under the U.K. National Security and Investment Act, and shows how the U.K. remedy landscape compares to the U.S. regime, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.

  • Consultations Underpin Mandatory Fraud Victim Repayment

    Author Photo

    The U.K. Payment Systems Regulator’s recent consultations on authorized push payment fraud reinforce its June policy expectation, which said that unless there is evidence of gross negligence and the consumer standard of caution has not been followed, providers must reimburse fraud victims, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • Swiss Privacy Law Reforms Present Divergences From GDPR

    Author Photo

    The differences between Switzerland’s recently reformed Federal Act on Data Protection and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, particularly around data breach reporting and the liability of company officers, will need to be carefully managed by multinationals that may have competing obligations under different laws, say Kim Roberts and Vanessa Alarcon Duvanel at King & Spalding.

  • New Legislation May Not Be Needed For Recovery Of Crypto

    Author Photo

    The recent seizure of cryptocurrency under a civil recovery order raises the issue of whether extended powers under the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill are necessary, with the ability to seize crypto-related items that may be the subject of a search order more likely to be of assistance, says Nicola McKinney at Quillon Law.

  • Opinion

    Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy

    Author Photo

    The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.

  • German Competition Law May Herald New Enforcement Trend

    Author Photo

    The recent amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition is expected to significantly expand the powers of the German Federal Cartel Office, and could signal a global trend toward greater direct intervention by national competition authorities and political interference in competition law, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.

  • New Financial Services Act Leaves Few Firms Untouched

    Author Photo

    The recently published Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which replaces retained EU law with U.K. legislation, is one of the most significant pieces of post-Brexit regulation, with key practical implications for actors such as investment firms and crypto-asset and payment service providers, say Tim Cant, Emma Tran and Bisola Williams at Ashurst.

  • FCA 'De-Banking' Clampdown May Need Gov't Backing

    Author Photo

    The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent clampdown on unfair bank account closures will give customers greater transparency, but with terms usually skewed in the bank’s favor, it is a policy matter for the government to enact further protections for businesses and consumers, say Stephen Rosen and Jean-Martin Louw at Collyer Bristow.

  • UK Securitization Reform Opts For Modest Approach, For Now

    Author Photo

    Recently published consultation papers from the U.K. Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct Authorities on new securitization rules mainly restate retained EU law, but there are some targeted adjustments being proposed and further divergence is to be expected, say Alix Prentice and Assia Damianova at Cadwalader.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Financial Services UK archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!