Financial Services UK

  • September 17, 2025

    FCA Unveils Tough Proposed Rules For Crypto Firms

    The Financial Conduct Authority set out Monday its proposed crypto-assets regulatory regime, with some wider reach than its rules for other sectors like banking or insurance to address technological exposures.

  • September 17, 2025

    Watchdog Floats New Enforcement Plan Amid Oversight Shift

    Britian's retirement savings watchdog has said it plans to become a more proactive regulator through a new strategy it hopes will make enforcement "smarter, more strategic and more impactful."

  • September 17, 2025

    Ex-Consultancy Execs Liable For £2.4M Over Misleading Sale

    A Birmingham court has ordered the former owners of a technology consultancy to pay more than £2.4 million ($3.3 million) in damages for selling the company under the misleading impression that some of its client contracts were more profitable than they really were.

  • September 17, 2025

    Banks Call On BoE To Ease Capital Rules That Harm Lending

    Senior bank officials told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that U.K. regulations requiring banks to hold too much capital against lending are driving away business, and that the Bank of England should ease the unnecessary burden to restore the competitive landscape.

  • September 17, 2025

    Pensions Watchdog Sharpens Focus On Professional Trustees

    The Pensions Regulator said Wednesday that it will continue with its plans to strengthen oversight of the professional trustee sector, after it emerged that 80% of the market was controlled by just four providers.

  • September 17, 2025

    Spanish Online Bank Can't Void Insurance Brokerage's EU TM

    A Spanish online bank has lost its attempt to void an insurance brokerage's "Insurance Advisors Associated" trademark, failing to convince European Union officials that there is a risk of confusion with its earlier registrations.

  • September 17, 2025

    Fox Williams Sues Fintech Biz For £130K Unpaid Legal Fees

    Fox Williams LLP has sued a financial technology company at a London court, alleging that it refused to pay fees incurred in an employment dispute with a former employee, according to filings that are now public.

  • September 16, 2025

    Merrill Lynch Proves Tribunal Claim Barred By Settlement

    Merrill Lynch has persuaded a tribunal to toss a former employee's discrimination claim under a settlement he inked when he exited the company, proving that he did not sign the agreement under duress.

  • September 16, 2025

    Insurer Can't Duck $6M Bond Payout Over Ghana Power Plant

    A London court ordered a Ghanaian insurance company on Tuesday to pay a subsidiary of Greek industrial conglomerate Metlen almost $6.3 million for wrongly refusing to pay up under a bond the insurer claimed was obtained by fraud.

  • September 16, 2025

    Pension Pot Withdrawals Surged Nearly 36%, FCA Says

    Savers in Britain withdrew £70.9 million ($96.8 million) from their pension pots in the financial year that ended in March, data published by the Financial Conduct Authority on Tuesday shows, amid suggested concern over government plans to amend tax rules linked to retirement pots.

  • September 16, 2025

    Let Banks Skip Basel Capital Rules, Trade Body Urges BoE

    The Association for Financial Markets in Europe has said that the Bank of England's regulatory arm should allow U.K. finance firms to temporarily opt out of some changes to Basel capital requirements to avoid uncertainty about compliance and risks to competitiveness.

  • September 16, 2025

    Conister Bank To Work With Fintech Biz On Overdraft Product

    Conister Bank said Tuesday that it will work with financial technology company Fiinu to introduce an overdraft product in the U.K. using open banking rules.

  • September 16, 2025

    State Pension Could Breach Tax Threshold In 2027

    British pensioners will be forced to pay income tax on state pension benefits from 2027 unless minimum earnings thresholds are lifted, experts said Tuesday in response to new data.

  • September 15, 2025

    Only 41% Of Boomers Say They're Ready For Retirement

    Only 41% of the more than 3 million working people ages 60 to 69 in the U.K. feel prepared for retirement, Just Group said Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    Former Estate Agent Can't Stop Bank Getting Dickens Mansion

    A former estate agent cannot prevent a bank from taking possession of her central London mansion that was once home to Charles Dickens after a judge found on Monday that an appeal would have no prospect of success.

  • September 15, 2025

    Aegon To Extend Pensions App To More Than A Million Savers

    Financial services firm Aegon said Monday it wants its Mylo app for tracking pension balances and information to be available to more than a million people, saying it understands the "emotional challenges" people face with their finances.

  • September 15, 2025

    Kingsley Napley Bags Private Client Pro To Head Tax Desk

    Kingsley Napley LLP said Monday that it has hired Paul Davidoff to head its international tax desk as the firm deals with a surge in work connected with tax and trusts amid an exodus of high-net-worth individuals from Britain.

  • September 15, 2025

    Employers Expect Budget Reform On Pension Salary Sacrifice

    Nine out of 10 U.K. employers expect the government to ditch tax breaks on pension salary-sacrifice arrangements when it unveils its autumn Budget, a survey has found.

  • September 15, 2025

    Watchdog Launches Program To Improve Audit Sector

    Britain's accounting watchdog launched a program on Monday that it said would bring together projects that are designed to drive improvements in the audit sector.

  • September 15, 2025

    Banker Sues Saudi Magnate Over £14M Shares Transfer

    A Tunisian-Swiss investment banker has sued a Saudi tycoon for 53 million Saudi riyals ($14 million), alleging that the Arabian mogul unlawfully transferred shares he held as a nominee for the financier to one of his own businesses.

  • September 12, 2025

    Another Investor Settles In $2.1B Danish Tax Fraud Case

    A U.S. investor and two of his alleged pension plans have settled claims by Denmark's tax agency accusing them of participating in a $2.1 billion scheme that fraudulently claimed refunds on tax withheld from stock dividends, with a New York federal court dismissing the allegations.

  • September 12, 2025

    Businessman Can Sue Fund In UK To Stop Luxembourg Claim

    A London court ruled Friday that a businessman can sue a Luxembourg investment fund in England over allegations that he was partly responsible for the fund underselling a company by as much as £80 million ($108 million).

  • September 12, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen former Master Chef presenter Gregg Wallace sue the BBC, Elon Musk's xAI take legal action against a staff engineer, and fashion mogul Kevin-Gerald Stanford file a fresh claim against Lion Capital-owned Klotho and EY amid a long-running All Saints share acquisition dispute.

  • September 12, 2025

    Ex-AIG IT Pro's Claim Struck Out Over Courtroom Misconduct

    A former AIG software developer on Friday had his whistleblowing claims against the insurer struck out after accusing a judge of perverting the course of justice, eating a meal during a hearing and calling a London tribunal a "circus."

  • September 12, 2025

    Third Point Completes Deal To List Reinsurance Biz On LSE

    Third Point Investors Ltd. said Friday that it has completed a reverse takeover of Malibu Life Reinsurance SPC under which the hedge fund will become a London-listed reinsurance company, despite opposition from a large group of shareholders.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling

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    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.

  • FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds

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    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.

  • Takeaways From Upcoming Payment Fraud Delay Legislation

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    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.

  • Modernizing UK Trade Settlement Standard: The Road Ahead

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    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.

  • Analyzing The Implications Of 1st FCA Crypto ATM Crackdown

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    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.

  • Draft Merger Control Guidance Allows CMA To Cast Wide Net

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    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.

  • Key Points From Cayman's Beneficial Ownership Regime

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    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.

  • HMRC Transfer Pricing Guide A Vital Resource For Businesses

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    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.

  • Insights From FRC's Report On Good Corporate Governance

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    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.

  • What To Know About The UK Overseas Funds Regime

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    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.

  • Takeaways From SRA Consumer Protection Review

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    While the Solicitors Regulation Authority prepares to announce its findings later this year following its consumer protection consultation, the topic of handling client funds is very much alive in the legal industry, with polarizing views on what should happen as a result of the review, says Claire Van Der Zant at Shieldpay.

  • Reflecting On 12 Months Of The EU Foreign Subsidy Regime

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    New European Commission guidance, addressing procedural questions and finally providing clarity on “distortion” in merger control and public procurement, offers an opportunity to reflect on the year since foreign subsidy notification obligations were introduced, say lawyers at Fried Frank.

  • What Updated Guide Means For Jersey's Private Funds

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    The Jersey Financial Services Commission's recent updates to the Jersey Private Fund Guide clarify existing provisions and introduce new requirements for fund managers, service providers and investors, demonstrating a clear commitment to maintaining Jersey's reputation as an attractive jurisdiction for investment, say lawyers at Walkers Global.

  • The Road Ahead For Tokenized Investment Funds In The UK

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    With an HM Treasury working group expected to release the final phase of a road map for tokenized investment funds by the end of the year, Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP discuss the advantages for investors and fund administrators, the proposed model for implementation, and what the regulatory landscape may look like.

  • Review Of EU Cross-Border Merger Regs' Impact On Irish Cos.

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    Looking back on the year since the European Union Mobility Directive was transposed into Irish law, enabling Irish and European Economic Area limited liability companies to participate in cross-border deals, it is clear that restructuring options available to Irish companies with EU operations have significantly expanded, say lawyers at Matheson.

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