Financial Services UK

  • March 10, 2025

    Barclays' Jes Staley Was 'Honest' With FCA Over Epstein Ties

    Former Barclays boss Jes Staley has denied attempting to mislead the Financial Conduct Authority about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, telling a tribunal on Monday that he always maintained they had a "close professional relationship."

  • March 10, 2025

    Addleshaw Wins Bankruptcy Order Against Former LC&F Boss

    Addleshaw Goddard has obtained a bankruptcy order against a former boss of London Capital & Finance after a court ruled he defrauded investors out of £237 million ($306 million) by running the investment company like a Ponzi scheme.

  • March 10, 2025

    German Election Raises Doubts About Pillar 2 From Tax Pros

    The new German government could end up abandoning the international corporate minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two because of rising competition between the U.S. and Europe, experts told Law360.

  • March 10, 2025

    Eversheds Guides Canada Life £361M Pension Scheme Deal

    Insurer Canada Life Ltd. said Monday it has finalized a buy-in transaction with a U.K. pension scheme worth £361 million ($465 million).

  • March 10, 2025

    FCA Finds Firms Prioritizing Sales Over Consumer Outcomes

    Some companies in the financial services sector are coming up short under the Consumer Duty regime by prioritizing sales over good customer outcomes, according to a review by the City watchdog.

  • March 10, 2025

    FRC Launches Tool To Boost Access To Company Data

    Britain's accounting watchdog on Monday said it has launched a new digital tool it said would improve free access to company reporting data.

  • March 10, 2025

    Aviva Finalizes £4.8M Buy-Out For Defunct Fruit Distributor

    Aviva PLC said Monday it has finalized a bulk purchase annuity buy-out with a pensions scheme for a now-defunct U.K. fresh fruit distributor A Gomez Ltd. for £4.8 million ($6.2 million).

  • March 07, 2025

    FCA Can Reject Criticism Of Redress For Misselling Scandal

    The Financial Conduct Authority is entitled to "reasonable disagreement" with an official review that criticized its decision to exclude around 10,000 transactions from a compensation scheme for a bank misselling scandal, a court ruled Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen an Iranian oil company sued for $95 million, Betfred hit with a lawsuit from a property company and NHS England face a human rights claim brought by a man detained under the Mental Health Act for over 20 years. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 07, 2025

    Four Men Imprisoned For 43 Yrs For Money Laundering Plot

    Four men involved in a plot to launder £266 million ($343 million) in criminal cash were on Friday sentenced to a total of more than 43 years in prison, in one of the biggest cases of its kind ever prosecuted in England.

  • March 07, 2025

    EU Regulator Eyes Harmonized AML Enforcement

    Europe's banking regulator wants the European Union's planned anti-money laundering watchdog to harmonize enforcement across member states, penalizing rule breaches against categories of severity.

  • March 07, 2025

    Barclays Asked Andrew Bailey To Speed Up Staley Probe

    Andrew Bailey testified Friday that Barclays asked him to "expedite" an investigation into its chief executive, Jes Staley, while he was head of the U.K. financial regulator amid concerns about the fallout from the probe into the CEO's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein being made public.

  • March 07, 2025

    Xeinadin Settles £1M Claim Against Ex-Director Over Poaching

    Accountancy group and business adviser Xeinadin has settled its over £1 million ($1.3 million) claim against the former director of an accountancy firm it acquired over allegations he had sought to lure clients and employees to a rival practice after he was ousted from the business.

  • March 07, 2025

    Fintech Unable To Hike $28M Claim Against Tanzanian Bank

    A London-based fintech company on Friday lost its bid to add an extra $4.9 million to its $28 million claim against a Tanzanian bank, with a London court ruling that adding to the case would scupper a looming trial.

  • March 07, 2025

    EU Fund Managers Push For More Competitive Regulations

    Europe's fund managers have called for more regulatory consistency across the European Union to help restore competitiveness, removing unnecessary rules as well as making environmental, social and governance data more reliable.

  • March 07, 2025

    FCA Awaits Gov't Answer To City Consumer Duty Pushback

    The Financial Conduct Authority is waiting for the government to clarify how much consumers can be exposed to risk in favor of more growth-focused regulation as the watchdog faces push back from the sector against its flagship consumer protection program.

  • March 06, 2025

    FCA Finds Most Firms Fail To Service Vulnerable Customers

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it has found that most firms are failing to ensure they're adequately serving vulnerable customers, according to a long-awaited review.

  • March 06, 2025

    Ex-Credit Suisse Banker Avoids Prison In 'Tuna Bond' Fraud

    A Brooklyn federal judge spared a former Credit Suisse banker from prison time Thursday, after he pled guilty and became a testifying government cooperator over a plot to defraud investors in a $2 billion state-backed development initiative in Mozambique.

  • March 06, 2025

    Barclays GC Helped Staley Respond To Epstein Controversy

    Former Barclays boss Jes Staley was helped by executives in the bank to draft talking points to "properly reflect" his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein to avoid being sacked as trustee from his alma mater, the bank's former top lawyer told a trial court Thursday.

  • March 06, 2025

    UK Authorities Clear Amex GBT's $570M CWT Buy

    United Kingdom antitrust authorities gave the formal all-clear Thursday to American Express Global Business Travel Inc.'s planned $570 million purchase of CWT Holdings LLC, leaving a Justice Department lawsuit the only hurdle remaining for the corporate travel management services merger.

  • March 06, 2025

    First 3 Firms Connect To UK Gov't Pension 'Dashboard'

    Three pension businesses have successfully plugged into the government's planned new online retirement savings portal, in a major milestone for the troubled project.

  • March 06, 2025

    Visa, Mastercard Face UK Regulatory Action Over Fees

    The U.K.'s Payment Systems Regulator said Thursday it will act against Mastercard and Visa over concerns about the duopoly's sharp price hikes on bank card fees.

  • March 06, 2025

    Slaughter & May-Led L&G Seals £505M Inchcape Pension Deal

    Insurer Legal & General has said it has covered £505 million ($650 million) of liabilities for the Inchcape Motors Pension Scheme, the U.K. retirement fund for the global automobile distributor, to secure the benefits of its members.

  • March 05, 2025

    Russian Billionaire Loses Fight To Lift EU Sanctions

    Russian billionaire Alexander Ponomarenko on Wednesday lost his fight to lift European Union sanctions imposed after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, with an EU court ruling that the restrictions should remain in place.

  • March 05, 2025

    Former Crypto Exec Can't Sue Bulgarian Biz In England

    The former director of a Bulgarian cryptocurrency company cannot sue the current owner over an alleged failure to transfer him his stake in the business, after a judge ruled Wednesday that the English courts do not have jurisdiction over the claim.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down The New UK Pension Funding Regs

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    Recently published U.K. pension regulations, proposing major changes to funding and investing in defined benefit pension schemes, raise implementation considerations for trustees, including the importance of the employer covenant, say Charles Magoffin and Elizabeth Bullock at Freshfields.

  • Predicting DeFi Regulations At Home And Abroad In 2024

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    Though decentralized finance has advocates on both sides of the Atlantic in figures like U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, DeFi in 2024 seems likely to be folded into existing regulatory frameworks in the U.K. and EU, while anti-crypto scrutiny may discourage DeFi’s growth in the U.S., say Daniel Csefalvay and Eric Martin at BCLP.

  • Consultation Docs Can Help EU Firms Prep For Crypto Regs

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    Firms providing crypto services should note two recent papers from the European Securities and Markets Authority defining proposals on reverse solicitation and financial instrument classification that will be critical to clarifying the scope of the regulatory framework under the impending Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case

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    After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Investors' Call For Voting Changes Faces Practical Challenges

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    A recent investor coalition call on fund managers to offer pass-through voting on pooled funds highlights a renewed concern for clients’ interests, but legal, regulatory and technological issues need to be overcome to ensure that risks related to the product are effectively mitigated, says Angeli Arora at Allectus.

  • Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes

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    An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.

  • What Extension Of French FDI Control Means For Investors

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    The recently published French order on foreign investment control expands the regime's application to more sectors and at a lower threshold of share ownership, illustrating France's determination to maintain sovereignty over its supply chains in sensitive sectors, and adding new considerations for potential investors in these areas, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • What To Expect For Private Capital Investment Funds In 2024

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    As 2024 gets underway, market sentiment in the private fundraising sphere seems more optimistic, with a greater focus on deal sourcing and operational optimizations, and an increased emphasis on impact and sustainability strategies, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.

  • Cayman Islands Off AML Risk Lists, Signaling Robust Controls

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    As a world-leading jurisdiction for securitization special purpose entities, the removal of the Cayman Islands from increased anti-money laundering monitoring lists is a significant milestone that will benefit new and existing financial services customers conducting business in the territory, say lawyers at Walkers Global.

  • Cos. Should Plan Now For Extensive EU Data Act Obligations

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    The recently enacted EU Data Act imposes wide-ranging requirements across industries and enterprises of all sizes, and with less than 20 months until the provisions begin to apply, businesses planning compliance will need to incorporate significant product changes and revision of contract terms, say Nick Banasevic, Robert Spano and Ciara O'Gara at Gibson Dunn. 

  • How Decision On A Key Definition Affects SMEs

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    The Financial Conduct Authority's decision not to extend the definition of small and midsized enterprises may benefit banks and finance providers in the current high interest rate environment and where SMEs in certain sectors may be under financial pressure in light of the cost-of-living crisis in order to streamline it, says Rachael Healey at RPC.

  • What New Digital Sandbox Regs Hold In Store For UK Markets

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    The recently enacted Digital Sandbox Regulations will be key to incorporating distributed ledger technology into the activities of a central securities depository, but despite being a potentially transformative innovation, a number of considerations may need to be addressed to accommodate the trading, settlement and maintenance of shares, say Tom Bacon and Andrew Tsang at BCLP.

  • Why Investment In Battery Supply Chain Is Important For UK

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    The recently published U.K. battery strategy sets out the government’s vision for a globally competitive battery supply chain, and it is critical that the U.K. secures investment to maximize opportunities for economic prosperity and net-zero transition, say lawyers at Watson Farley & Williams.

  • What Extending Corporate Liability Will Mean For Foreign Cos.

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    Certain sections of the Economic Crime Act enacted in December 2023 make it easier to prosecute companies for economic crimes committed abroad, and organizations need to consider their exposure and the new ways they can be held liable for the actions of their personnel, say Dan Hudson at Seladore Legal and Christopher Coltart at 2 Hare Court.

  • A Consequential Moment For Sanctions Activity

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    It is clear from the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's review of the 2022-2023 financial year that the unprecedented scale of designated persons and the value of assets frozen as a result has placed enormous pressure on OFSI and its partners, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.

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