Expert Analysis

• 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.

• Court Backing Of FCA Pensions Ruling Sends Key Message

  

  The Upper Tribunal’s recent upholding of the Financial Conduct Authority's decisions against CFP Management directors serves as a judicial endorsement of the regulator’s approach to defined benefit transfers, underscoring that where the advisory model is fundamentally flawed, the consequences for those in control can be severe, say lawyers at RPC.

• What To Note As UK Adopts OECD Crypto Disclosure Rules

  

  With the U.K.’s recent announcement that it will adopt the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's crypto-asset reporting framework, users and providers will benefit from understanding the context surrounding the decision and the framework's intended goal of clamping down on tax evasion, say lawyers at Brown Rudnick.

• Why UK Sanctions Review Recommendations Lack Substance

  

  The recent U.K. cross-government sanctions enforcement review makes welcome but unambitious recommendations, and without increasing funding for sanctions agencies or developing a whistleblower incentivization scheme, it is unlikely to result in tangible support for the sectors that most need it, say lawyers at WilmerHale.

• How UK Law Firms Can Counter Money Laundering Threat

  

  With figures released in May showing that money laundering was the biggest source of fraud in the U.K. last year, law firms should focus on internal identification and prevention strategies, considering the scale and nature of potential risk exposure depends on several business factors, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.

• Key Takeaways As EU And UK Impose New Russia Sanctions

  

  The European Union and U.K.’s new sanctions on Russia, designating increasing numbers of non-Russian companies in the defense and shipping sectors, mean that organizations must examine from the outset whether a transaction has any nexus with the EU or the U.K., say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• 8 Ways Law Firms Can Prepare For SRA's AML Offensive

  

  The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s recent plans to intensify anti-money laundering enforcement means firms need to concentrate on strengthening client matter risk assessments, policies and procedures, source of funds checks and firmwide risk assessments, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.

• How Unfair Practice Rules Boost Consumer Protections

  

  With the consumer protection aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act now in force, companies must not only ensure their business is not engaged in prohibited practices, but also consider how consumers make decisions to acquire goods and services, say lawyers at Linklaters.

• Fraud Office Guidance Highlights Value Of Self-Reporting

  

  New guidance from the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office on corporate self-reporting, cooperation and deferred prosecution agreements provides a useful framework for companies navigating criminal investigations and their potential resolutions — and underscores that corporations that self-report are in a better position to obtain DPAs than those that do not, say lawyers at Skadden.

• Answering Key Questions About 2 EU Cybersecurity Laws

  

  As companies work to implement two nascent European Union cybersecurity measures, the Digital Operational Resilience Act and the second Network and Information Security Directive, lawyers at MoFo address nine conceptual questions emerging around their interpretation and compliance obligations.

• Industry Input Is Key As EU Weighs New Tariffs On US Trade

  

  The European Commission’s ongoing consultation, which seeks feedback on a proposed expansion of products subject to tariffs and restrictions in retaliation to U.S. tariffs, opens an important opportunity for industry stakeholders to highlight why a scope exclusion is warranted, say lawyers at Crowell & Moring.

• What End of Payment Systems Regulator Means For Biz

  

  The U.K. government’s plan to abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and absorb its functions into the Financial Conduct Authority should eventually lighten the compliance burden for businesses under the PSR’s remit, which may in turn encourage growth, but the proposed changes will roll out slowly, say lawyers at Farrer & Co.

• Compliance Lessons From Art Dealer's Terror Financing Plea

  

  Regulated businesses can learn from the missteps of a recently convicted London art dealer, who failed to disclose sales to a suspected Hezbollah financier, by implementing compliance measures like anti-terrorism financing screenings as robust as their anti-money laundering policies and training staff to spot red flags, say lawyers at White & Case.

• 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.