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Financial Services UK
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June 20, 2025
CMA Floats Simplified Phase 1 Merger Probe Changes
The Competition and Markets Authority on Friday launched a public consultation on streamlining its merger control processes, intending to speed up investigations as part of a wider aim to make the U.K. more business-friendly.
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June 20, 2025
European Funds Call For More Competitive Tokenization Rules
The trade body for European fund managers called Friday for harmonization of the fragmented rules on tokenization across member states in a regulatory reform strategy to stay ahead of competitors like Singapore and Switzerland.
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June 20, 2025
India Can't Block UAE Fund's $273M Metals Deal Arbitration
India lost its bid Friday to fend off a claim that it caused a UAE investment fund to lose $273 million by ending an aluminum production deal, with a London court ruling that an arbitration tribunal has jurisdiction to hear the case.
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June 20, 2025
FSB Flags Risks For Property Investors Amid Rate Hikes
The Financial Stability Board has warned about growing "vulnerabilities" among non-bank investors in the $12 trillion commercial real estate market, citing liquidity imbalances, high debt levels and a lack of transparency on lenders' exposure to the sector.
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June 19, 2025
E-Commerce Co. Denied 'Extraordinary' $40M Injunction
An Indian e-commerce company has failed to secure an order to get $40 million it claims to need to complete the purchase of a software business, after a court said it was not prepared to grant the "extraordinary" relief before a trial.
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June 19, 2025
Top Banks Devise Programs For Disabled Entrepreneurs
A trade body for financial firms said Thursday that Britain's top high-street banks had started supporting disabled entrepreneurs in line with the Consumer Duty and the government's plan for growth, but more work is needed.
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June 19, 2025
Trafigura Partly Blocks Changes To Gupta's $600M Defense
Metals trader Prateek Gupta was partly blocked Thursday from making wholesale changes to his defense to a fraud claim worth more than $600 million from Trafigura by a judge who nevertheless permitted alterations that had been agreed and those that would not require disclosure.
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June 19, 2025
Clear Group Expands UK Reach With Insurance Broker Buy
Insurance broker Clear Group said Thursday that it has acquired CR Toogood & Co. Ltd., a commercial insurance broker based in the southeast of England, as the group strengthens its footprint in the region.
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June 19, 2025
AmTrust Wins Disclosure Appeal In £56M Claim-Funding Clash
A London appeals court said Thursday that AmTrust should be able to see another insurer's communications with two law firms amid a £56 million ($75 million) battle over who should cover the costs of a failed litigation-funding scheme.
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June 19, 2025
Ex-Janus Henderson Analyst Convicted Of Insider Dealing
A London jury convicted a former City hedge fund analyst and his sister of insider dealing and money laundering charges on Thursday over allegations that they traded off confidential information to illegally earn nearly £1 million ($1.35 million).
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June 19, 2025
Pension Trustees Told To Act Now On Incoming Reforms
Pension plan trustees should act now to ensure they are prepared for recently announced reforms that will "fundamentally reshape" the market, according to Britain's retirement savings watchdog.
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June 19, 2025
Finance Advisory Biz Openwork Buys Partner Firm
The Openwork Partnership, a U.K. financial advice network, said Thursday it has completed a transaction to acquire partner firm Milecross Financial Solutions Ltd. as part of its expansion plan.
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June 19, 2025
Presumed Alive, Fugitive Told To Repay £64M For Ponzi Fraud
A judge ordered the fugitive mastermind behind a Ponzi scheme on Thursday to repay hundreds of conned investors £64 million ($86 million) after assuming that he might not have died despite suffering a reported heart attack in Mexico.
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June 19, 2025
Henderson, Fidelity European To Merge To Create £2.1B Trust
Henderson European Trust, advised by Stephenson Harwood LLP, and Fidelity European Trust said Thursday that they plan to merge in order to create a combined London-listed entity with £2.1 billion ($2.8 billion) of net assets.
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June 18, 2025
Jurisdiction Up First In $1B Ukraine Bank Nationalization Case
A more than $1 billion claim asserted against Ukraine by a Luxembourg-based banking group with ties to a Russian oligarch over the nationalization of Sense Bank will have to overcome jurisdictional hurdles before damages will be considered, an international tribunal has ruled.
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June 18, 2025
Intesa Sanpaolo Staffer Loses Bid For Reinstatement
An employee on secondment in London from Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has lost his bid to be reinstated until his hearing for unfair dismissal, with an employment tribunal finding he is unlikely to win his substantive case and therefore not entitled to reinstatement in the interim.
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June 18, 2025
EU Moves To Overhaul Payment Rules To Target Fraud
A key committee of European Union member state representatives said Wednesday that it had agreed its position on improving payment services, an early step toward regulations that could fight fraud and boost consumer protections.
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June 18, 2025
PE Firm Says Forfeiting Tycoon's €1.5M Investment Was Valid
A private equity firm has denied wrongfully forfeiting car tycoon Peter Waddell's €1.5 million ($1.7 million) investment in the company and alleged the move was "entirely reasonable," given he had failed to meet a request for money as part of the funding deal.
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June 18, 2025
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.
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June 18, 2025
EU Firms Warn UK Gov't Not To Ban Ransomware Payments
A European financial markets trade body on Wednesday warned the U.K.'s Home Office that its proposed ban on paying ransomware demands to criminals could destabilize financial markets and lead to cross-border confusion.
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June 18, 2025
BoE Backs Innovation To Boost Financial Sector Resilience
The Bank of England said Wednesday that its regulatory arm will support innovation to help companies become more resilient.
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June 18, 2025
Over 1M Gig Workers 'Can't Afford' To Save For A Pension
More than a million "gig" workers in the U.K. cannot afford to save into a pension, a retirement savings company has said, amid growing fears that younger and more precarious workers will not have adequate savings in later life.
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June 17, 2025
Ex-Triton Exec Beats Post-Brexit Appeal To Nix Bias Claim
An appellate tribunal has upheld a ruling that Brexit did not curtail the ability of a former Triton Partners investment adviser to bring discrimination claims against the Swedish private equity firm's executives, allowing him to pursue his claim in the U.K.
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June 17, 2025
Ex-Georgian PM Says Credit Suisse Ignored £600M Fraud
Georgia's former prime minister told a U.K. appeals court Tuesday that Credit Suisse Life cannot skirt liability for his losses from an employee's fraud scheme, saying the life insurer had obligations to policyholders to ensure their assets were being managed responsibly.
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June 17, 2025
Ireland Completes AIB Exit With €305M Final Share Sale
Ireland said Tuesday that it has sold its remaining 2.06% stake in Allied Irish Banks for €305.3 million ($352 million), completing the bank's return to private ownership.
Expert Analysis
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What UK Procurement Act Delay Will Mean For Stakeholders
The Procurement Act 2023’s delay until February 2025 has sparked debate among contracting authorities and suppliers, and the Labour Party’s preference for a broader reform package demonstrates the challenges involved in implementing legislative changes where there is a change in government, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
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How Energy Scheme Is Affecting Large Co. Fund Investment
The latest phase of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme implicates funds with investments in large companies by establishing significant and complex changes to the reporting cycle for mandatory assessments, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
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How Companies House Enforcement Powers Are Growing
Companies House's recently increased ability to assess what material is submitted to the U.K. register of companies, and to proportionately enforce where violations have occurred, may require some degree of cultural shift within many companies, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
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How New Sanctions Office Will Affect UK Trade Landscape
The recent launch of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will help to create a more comprehensive civil enforcement terrain, but the potential for multiple investigations means businesses should reassess their systems to ensure they do not inadvertently incur civil liability, says Julia Pearce at Robertson Pugh.
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FCA Savings Update Focuses On Good Customer Outcomes
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent cash savings update emphasizes its expectations of firms to deliver fair value to consumers by documenting the rationale for actions at each stage, considering customer communications and demonstrating that potential harms are acted upon, say Matt Handfield, Charlotte Rendle and Caroline Hunter-Yeats at Simmons & Simmons.
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5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment in UniCredit Bank v. RusChemAlliance, upholding an injunction against a lawsuit that attempted to shift arbitration away from a contractually designated venue, provides helpful guidance on when such injunctions may be available, say attorneys at Fladgate.
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FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds
The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed changes to payments firms’ safeguarding requirements, with enhanced recordkeeping and fund segregation, seek to bolster existing regulatory provisions, but by introducing a statutory trust concept to cover customers’ assets, represent a set of onerous rules, says Matt Hancock at Greenberg Traurig.
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Takeaways From Upcoming Payment Fraud Delay Legislation
Lawyers at Hogan Lovells discuss what to know about new legislation that will allow payment service providers to delay payments when third-party fraud is suspected, and share pointers for providers to consider ahead of the Oct. 30 effective date.
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Modernizing UK Trade Settlement Standard: The Road Ahead
Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP consider the rationale and challenges of a potential U.K. trade settlement acceleration, part of an initiative to modernize the financial market infrastructure, and suggest that incorporating distributed ledger technology as a synchronized recording system would facilitate the move.
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Analyzing The Implications Of 1st FCA Crypto ATM Crackdown
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent criminal prosecution of Olumide Osunkoya, its first enforcement action against a crypto-asset trading firm's owner, is an unambiguous sign of the regulator’s commitment to actively pursue transgressors, but may be a hindrance to the U.K. crypto industry, says Asim Arshad at Lawrence Stephens.
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Draft Merger Control Guidance Allows CMA To Cast Wide Net
The Competition and Markets Authority's recent draft merger control guidance, reflecting the regulator's strengthened powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act, introduces extensive change and potential procedural improvements, specifically concerning reviews of private equity firms, say lawyers at Travers Smith.
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Key Points From Cayman's Beneficial Ownership Regime
While recent expansion of the Cayman Islands Beneficial Ownership Act's scope means it now encompasses many entities with previously minimal obligations, the changes ensure a welcome level playing field with workable alternative routes to compliance, says Lucy Frew at Walkers Global.
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HMRC Transfer Pricing Guide A Vital Resource For Businesses
HM Revenue & Customs' recent guidelines on common transfer pricing compliance risks should be required reading for affected businesses in indicating HMRC's expected benchmark for documents and policies, say Tomoko Ikawa and Kapisha Vyas at Simmons & Simmons.
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Insights From FRC's Report On Good Corporate Governance
Although the Financial Reporting Council’s recent report on private companies opting to follow the Wates principles has identified improvements, it is important for organizations to provide transparent disclosures and avoid boilerplate, tickbox filings, says Tessa Hastie at BCLP.
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What To Know About The UK Overseas Funds Regime
The U.K.’s overseas funds regime is now open for applications, providing a simplified way of offering a foreign fund to U.K. retail investors, and the Financial Conduct Authority's clear policy statement on implementation should ease the transition process from the existing scheme, say lawyers at Dechert.