Financial Services UK

FCA's New Enforcement Regime Threatens Firms, Individuals

The Financial Conduct Authority could damage the reputations of businesses and individuals under investigation in cases that it publicizes anonymously as an unintended consequence of a new enforcement policy, lawyers have warned.

Jes Staley at the Rolls Building in London

How Staley's Legal Bid To Save His Reputation Backfired

Former Barclays boss James "Jes" Staley's bid to salvage his reputation has backfired in the face of a London tribunal's findings he "lacked credibility" due to the "overwhelming" evidence of his close relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Cryptocurrency coming out of a man's hand

FCA's Crypto Ban Reversal Unleashes Consumer Harm Risk

The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed reversal of its ban on crypto exchange-traded notes for retail investors has paved the way for immeasurable consumer harm, U.K. and U.S. lawyers have warned.

Pedestrians walk past the sign outside the headquarters of the white-collar agency in London.

SFO's Growth Push A 'Difficult Line To Tread' For Prosecutor

The Serious Fraud Office's recent promise to assist UK PLC with growth has raised eyebrows among former officials who question the optics of adopting political talking points that, on the surface, appear to distract from investigating and prosecuting economic crime.

July 01, 2025
Deutsche Faces Investor Bid To Renew UK Bond-Rigging Case

An Oklahoma pension fund moved Monday to revive its New York federal court case over alleged price-fixing of U.K. government bonds, citing newly obtained chat transcripts and other material that it says bolster its claims against Deutsche Bank.
July 01, 2025
Creditors Accuse Shipping Biz Of Trying To Evade $309M Debt

The Norwegian government and three finance companies have sued two Guernsey-based companies and a shipping businessman in a London court, accusing them of fraudulently transferring real estate assets to evade liability for loan defaults.
July 01, 2025
Bank Of Ireland Denies £60M Property Loan Fraud Claim

Bank of Ireland has denied a £60 million ($83 million) claim that it deceived a real estate investment business into borrowing millions of pounds by giving inflated property evaluations and said the borrower would have taken out the loan anyway because it was such a generous financial package.
July 01, 2025
HMRC Can Collect Tax In Disputed Avoidance Schemes

A London court has ruled that HM Revenue and Customs can collect disputed income tax owed by a group of companies that took part in tax avoidance schemes, even though the authority previously promised to postpone the requests until the disputes were settled.
July 01, 2025
FCA Can Drop £6M Fine In Cum-Ex Case After Danish Pleas

The Financial Conduct Authority can reverse its decision to fine a cum-ex trader £5.9 million ($8.1 million) to avoid prejudicing Denmark's attempts to claw back the proceeds from an alleged sham trading scheme, a London tribunal has ruled.
July 01, 2025
Traders Banned And Fined For 'Spoofing' Market Manipulation

A London tribunal has approved fines and bans for three traders totaling £381,000 ($523,000) for market abuse after upholding claims from the Financial Conduct Authority that they dishonestly placed bogus bond orders to manipulate the market.
July 01, 2025
Swedbank To Buy Digital Mortgage Biz Stabelo For $37M

Swedish multinational banking group Swedbank AB said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire mortgage lender Stabelo to reach more prospective homeowners for an initial price of 350 million Swedish krona ($37 million) from Avanza Bank AB and other owners.
July 01, 2025
Gov't Structural Reform Urged To Boost Participation In LSE

The government must unify the fragmented departments involved in oversight of retail participation in public markets in order to encourage Britons to invest in companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, a group backed by City experts said Tuesday.
July 01, 2025
Barclays Car Finance Appeal Must Wait For Top Court Ruling

Barclays' bid to overturn a ruling by the Financial Ombudsman on motor finance commissions was delayed on Tuesday, as the Court of Appeal adjourned the case to await a high-stakes judgment from the U.K. Supreme Court.
July 01, 2025
British-Russian Man Charged With Paying Bitcoin To Militia

A British-Russian national alleged to have funded pro-Russian militia groups in occupied eastern Ukraine through bitcoin payments made his first appearance at a London court on Tuesday accused of breaching the U.K. sanctions regime.
July 01, 2025
SIX Finalizes Aquis Deal, Boosts European Market Reach

SIX Exchange Group AG said on Tuesday it has successfully closed its acquisition of London's challenger stock exchange Aquis, which the Swiss bourse group believes will boost its position in European trading.
July 01, 2025
BNP Paribas Seals €5.1B Axa Investment Management Buy

BNP Paribas Cardif said on Tuesday that it has finalized its purchase of the investment management business of French insurer Axa for an estimated €5.1 billion ($6 billion).
June 30, 2025
UK Supreme Court Denies Russia Immunity In $63B Yukos Case

Russia has been denied permission to challenge an appellate court ruling in Britain dismissing its attempt to use state immunity to block former investors in Yukos Oil Co. from enforcing more than $63 billion in arbitral awards they won nearly 11 years ago, the investors said Monday.
June 30, 2025
HMRC Investigated Avoidance Scheme Enough, Court Rules

HM Revenue & Customs didn't need to investigate further before determining that nearly 50 consultants owed taxes on income routed through offshore entities on the Isle of Man, the High Court of Justice said in declining to review the British tax authority's decision.
June 30, 2025
Software Startup Says Ideagen Trademark Use Not Deceptive

A software startup founded by the former directors of a company acquired by Ideagen has hit back at claims it lured customers away through deception, telling a court that it has every right to compete with Ideagen.
June 30, 2025
UBS Launches $2B Buyback To Trim Share Capital

UBS Group AG revealed on Monday the imminent launch of a $2 billion share repurchase program, a move expected to lower the Swiss banking giant's outstanding share capital.
June 30, 2025
EU Watchdog Pushes For Stronger Greenwashing Controls

The European Union's markets watchdog warned national regulators Monday to supervise better how investment managers disclose sustainability-related factors of funds.
June 30, 2025
Finance Gender Gap Progress Too Slow, Gov't Report Warns

A body set up by HM Treasury to increase the representation of women at senior levels in finance warned Monday that improving gender parity in the sector remains too slow and urged companies to "accelerate" their efforts.
June 30, 2025
Ex-Stobart Boss Loses Latest Conspiracy Case Over Sacking

Stobart Group's former chief executive has lost his latest battle to prove an alleged conspiracy to remove him as chair of the logistics company, as a judge ruled that his case against some of its shareholders was an unlawful attempt to re-open earlier claims.
June 30, 2025
EU Eyes Adding ESG Risk In Stress Tests For Banks, Insurers

Three European Union finance watchdogs have proposed rules to ensure that national banking and insurance regulators integrate environmental, social and governance risks into supervisory stress-testing in a more harmonized way.
June 30, 2025
CPS Drops Bribery Case Against Oil Entrepreneur Over Errors

Prosecutors have dropped bribery charges against a Nigerian-born U.S. oil entrepreneur accused of making illegal payments to a banker, admitting at a court hearing in London on Monday to substantial errors in disclosing evidence.
June 29, 2025
FCA Presents Targeted Support Rules For Finance Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority said Monday it has set out a fast-track plan to allow financial services firms to provide a new type of "targeted support" to unadvised customers about pensions and investments.
June 27, 2025
Senior MPs Urge Reform Of Complex Lifetime ISA Rules

Senior MPs warned Monday that the dual-purpose and inflexible rules of Lifetime ISAs might be pushing consumers toward less suitable financial products and risking their cash reserves.
June 27, 2025
UK Tribunal Says Visa, Mastercard Fees Infringe Antitrust Law

A U.K. tribunal issued a judgment Friday siding with merchants seeking damages from Visa and Mastercard for claims they were charged excessively high transaction fees, finding the interchange fees merchants pay to banks violate competition law.
June 27, 2025
FCA Launches Investigation Into John Wood Group

The U.K.'s financial watchdog said Friday that it has opened a probe into the Scottish multinational engineering consultancy John Wood Group PLC after the company revealed the probe in a statement to markets.

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 HMRC's Tax Reform Proposals

Although HM Revenue & Customs’ recent proposals for reform of U.K. transfer pricing and permanent establishment rules align with the latest international consensus, certain amendments may lead to future controversy, say lawyers at Skadden.
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.
Comparing Stablecoin Bills From UK, EU, US And Hong Kong

For multinational stablecoin issuers, navigating the differences and similarities among regimes in the U.K., EU, Hong Kong and U.S., which are currently unfolding in several key ways, is critical to achieving scalable, compliant operations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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.
Pension Schemes Bill's Most Notable, Controversial Measures

The long-awaited Pension Schemes Bill recently introduced to Parliament creates a framework for harnessing money saved in U.K. workplace pension funds to grow the country’s economy, but provisions relating to local government pension scheme investment, and scale and asset allocation, are controversial, says Claire Dimmock at Squire Patton.
What New FCA Private Stock Market System Could Offer Cos.

While the Financial Conduct Authority’s new secondary private stock market system will bring more control and less ongoing regulatory compliance than a public market, but because the regime grants a significant degree of flexibility to operators it may be some time before a full operational picture emerges, says Iain Wright at Morgan Lewis.
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.
Open Questions As FCA Prepares Buy Now, Pay Later Rules

HM Treasury’s recent response to its consultation on buy now, pay later lending regulation is clear on policy, but with rules still to be set by the Financial Conduct Authority it is difficult for firms to plan for change, and they should take advantage now of the opportunity to liaise with the regulator, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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 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.