Expert Analysis

• Easing Of UK Stablecoin Rules Will Encourage Crypto Growth

  

  The Bank of England’s recent decision to relax parts of its proposed framework for sterling-backed stablecoins balances innovation with financial stability, and will help the U.K. remain competitive with crypto markets across the globe, says Thomas Cattee at Gherson.

• New FDI Regs Signal Major Changes For M&A Deals In EU

  

  The European Parliament’s recent adoption of the new foreign direct investment regulation represents a major shift from the European Union's current regime, replacing a voluntary fragmented system with a mandatory baseline for screening and introducing procedural requirements that will bring greater consistency across member states, say lawyers at Covington.

• EU Fund Manager Reforms May Deepen Divide With UK Regs

  

  Although the European Union is progressing with newly implemented regulations for alternative investment fund managers, the U.K. is leveraging post-Brexit flexibility to review its regulatory framework, marking a potential divergence between the two regimes, say lawyers at Skadden.

• FCA-Approved Firms Get Liability Clarity On Appointed Reps

  

  The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Kession Capital v. KVB Consultants, turning on the construction of Section 39 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, sets an important precedent in elucidating a Financial Conduct Authority-authorized person's responsibility for its appointed representative's activities, say lawyers at Signature Litigation.

• Private Lender Verification Lessons From Recent Fraud Cases

  

  Recent fraud allegations involving private credit borrowers raise compliance red flags for lenders, who must recognize that financial and collateral verification is an essential safeguard as failures in underwriting and monitoring infect the broader market, say Michael Bresnick at Venable and Brian Mich at Control Risks Group.

• Internal Investigation Strategy After Glencore Privilege Ruling

  

  The recent High Court ruling in Aabar Holdings v. Glencore PLC confirms that legal privilege can extend to intraclient communications, materially improving the position of companies that design investigations carefully, define legal channels properly and maintain discipline in their internal communications, says Nicolas Groffman at Harligan.

• Series

  Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

• Reflecting On The UK Senior Managers Regime 10 Years On

  

  While the ongoing changes to the senior managers and certification regime to streamline processes and remove certain restrictions are welcome, the scheme has worked well overall since its 2016 inauguration, and firms’ compliance and risk management-thinking have shown a marked improvement, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.

• Auditors Face Liability Risk In Longer Going Concern Reviews

  

  A recent Institute of Chartered Accountants' article highlights a growing trend of requests to extend going concern assessment periods to 15 months or more, potentially leading to auditors assuming a duty of care to third parties, say lawyers at RPC.

• How Revised EU Rules Would Alter Sustainability Reporting

  

  Two draft delegated regulations recently published by the European Commission give effect to the Omnibus I simplification, highlighting a consistent policy direction: fewer companies in scope, later and lighter obligations, and explicit protections for smaller value chain counterparties, say lawyers at MoFo.

• How Anthropic's Mythos May Upend Defense Cyber Rules

  

  Anthropic’s recent announcement that Claude Mythos, an AI general-purpose language model, could soon enable virtually anyone to exploit vulnerabilities in major web browsers and operating systems marks an imminent increase in threat levels that current defense cybersecurity regulations were not designed to navigate, say attorneys at Fluet.

• UK Stock Exchange Changes Ease Path For Foreign Issuers

  

  Following the Financial Times Stock Exchange Russell's recent eligibility change aligning free float requirements for foreign and non-U.K. issuers, advisers to those considering a London listing should also assess index suitability, say lawyers at Debevoise.

• FCA's AI Approach Makes Finance Advisers' Calls Harder

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent reaffirmation that it won’t make special rules governing how financial service providers use artificial intelligence means advisers must pivot to interpreting already uncertain regulatory boundaries to help clients make defensible decisions about their AI use, says Sophie Sheldon at Simmons & Simmons.

• Compliance Landscape Shifts As CMA Targets Fake Reviews

  

  The Competition and Markets Authority’s investigations into five companies’ alleged misleading online reviews are the first use of its administrative powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, marking a turning point in U.K. consumer protection enforcement, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.

• SFO Plan Focuses On Resilience But Funding Doubts Persist

  

  The Serious Fraud Office’s emphasis on tighter case management and making greater use of technology in its latest business plan suggests a concern with strengthening complex financial crime enforcement, however the agency may not have the resources to deliver meaningful change, say lawyers at Signature Litigation.