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Financial Services UK

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EU Risks Losing Startups Without Unified Investor Exit Rules

The European Union has a plan for a blocwide secondary trading platform for private companies to prevent them from slipping away to the deeper capital pools available in the U.S., although the proposal might be hindered by jurisdictional barriers.

FCA Auto Finance Redress Plan Open To Legal Challenge

Banks and vehicle financing companies are expected to mount legal challenges to the Financial Conduct Authority's £7.5 billion ($9.9 billion) motor finance compensation program, threatening to capsize the plan and probably delay its implementation for months.

Home Office sign outside the ministry's building in Whitehall, London.

Fraud Plan Puts FCA At Forefront Of UK Crypto-Crackdown

The Financial Conduct Authority has been given a lead role in targeting money laundering, crypto-assets and money transfer scams in a government fraud strategy involving multiple agencies, which lawyers expect will boost enforcement action and heap a new compliance burden on financial institutions.

Double exposure of coins in stacks with bar graph for financial and investment business in the background.

M&A, Deregulation Bring Reset To UK Asset Management

Consolidation of the asset management sector is ramping up as U.S. firms seek access to the domestic market and U.K. watchdogs loosen regulation in line with government-mandated pro-growth policies, which is expected to accelerate a spurt in dealmaking.

April 16, 2026
EU Watchdog Eyes 25% Cut To 13 Solvency II Rulebooks

The European Union's insurance watchdog has proposed cutting 13 sets of guidelines on Solvency II by 25% to reduce the administrative burden on insurers.
April 16, 2026
Gov't Reports Capita Over Pension Data Breach

The government has reported the new administrator of the Civil Service Pension Scheme to the Information Commissioner's Office over a data breach, amid growing official frustration over a botched handover.
April 16, 2026
FCA Unveils New Short Selling Rules To Cut Red Tape

The Financial Conduct Authority set out on Thursday its new U.K. short selling regime, which will greatly reduce reporting requirements and clarify when the regulator can use its emergency powers to stop short selling.
April 16, 2026
UK Product Testing Biz Rebuffs EQT's Indicative Takeover Bid

EQT Fund Management SARL said Thursday that it is weighing its options after product testing and certification business Intertek Group PLC rejected its preliminary takeover approach earlier this week.
April 16, 2026
Glencore Can Shield Internal Legal Prep Docs In Investor Case

Glencore does not have to disclose internal communications whose primary purpose was to obtain legal advice in its legal battle with investors who said they were misled about wrongdoing, as a court held on Thursday that they were covered by legal privilege.
April 16, 2026
UK Sanctions Body Unveils 3-Year Plan To Speed Probes

The state sanctions watchdog has unveiled a three-year plan to accelerate enforcement, aiming to submit 90% of new investigations for a decision within 18 months of opening them.
April 16, 2026
Cleary Helps Uzbekistan Fund Win $300M Backing In UK IPO

Uzbekistan's sovereign wealth fund said Thursday that investors including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have agreed to plow $300 million into its proposed initial public offering as it confirmed plans to float in London and Tashkent.
April 15, 2026
Payments Co., Owner 'Sabotaged' $175M Sale, Crypto Biz Says

A cryptocurrency wallet platform seeks to enforce its $175 million deal to purchase a global payments company, accusing the company and its owner of "a blatant, reckless, and improper campaign" to keep the sale from closing.
April 15, 2026
UBS Must Reveal Atty Comms In Ex-Trader's $400M Libor Suit

A Connecticut state judge has ordered UBS AG to hand some communications with its lawyers and prosecutors in U.S. and U.K. criminal cases to former trader Tom Hayes, whose $400 million lawsuit claims he was made a scapegoat to shield senior bank executives from Libor-rigging allegations.
April 15, 2026
Gold Mining Boss Says £18M Share Payment Not Due

A director of an ailing gold mining company has denied breaching an agreement to pay more than £17.5 million ($23.7 million) for shares in another mining business, arguing that he didn't have to pay because the price had not been determined.
April 15, 2026
Arms Broker Denies Criminality Over Libya, Sudan Deals

A man accused of being involved in schemes to traffic weapons without a license to countries including South Sudan and Libya told a London jury Wednesday that they should not convict him just for being involved in arms dealing.
April 15, 2026
Targeted Support Drives 53% Jump In First-Time Investing

A financial services trade body found Wednesday in research sponsored by Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Vanguard that people who have never invested are willing to invest up to 53% more after receiving targeted support.
April 15, 2026
Collapsed Pensions Biz Misused Clients' Money, FCA Says

The financial services watchdog said Wednesday that an individual involved in a pensions business withdrew its customers' money without consent and invested it for their own benefit.
April 15, 2026
Pension Funding Drops £9.9B Over Middle East Conflict

Economic shocks from the war in the Middle East wiped £9.9 billion ($13.4 billion) from the funding surpluses of U.K. pension plans in March, the compensation program for the sector has said.
April 14, 2026
Austria's BAWAG To Buy Irish Lender Permanent TSB For $1.9B

Austrian bank BAWAG PSK on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to acquire Irish lender Permanent TSB Group Holdings PLC in a €1.62 billion ($1.9 billion) deal, a move that comes roughly half a year after the government-owned lender put itself up for sale.
April 14, 2026
PwC Elevates UK Legal Chief To Global GC

PwC's general counsel and chief risk officer in the United Kingdom is now the next global general counsel, as the most recent top lawyer for the firm steps aside in preparation of her retirement, the company said Tuesday.
April 14, 2026
Bank Can't Slash £1.4M Payout For Director At Court

The highest court for some independent Commonwealth countries has rejected a Mauritian bank's appeal against a former director's unfair dismissal payout of almost £1.4 million ($1.9 million), dismissing the bank's argument that the executive's 37 years' employment was not continuous.
April 14, 2026
FCA Bans Motor Finance Ads Misusing Martin Lewis Clips

The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday that it has banned advertisements from a claims management company for using its logo without permission and unauthorized clips of the founder of MoneySavingExpert to make "misleading claims about average motor finance compensation."
April 14, 2026
Biotech Director Wins $3M Loan Row With Bahamian Bank

The director of an American biotech company is entitled to a "substantial sum of money" after winning his $15 million claim against a Bahamian bank, a London court held Tuesday, finding that the lender breached the terms of a $3 million loan agreement.
April 14, 2026
ECB Pushes EU Banking Rule Changes To Boost Competition

The European Central Bank urged lawmakers Tuesday to make concrete changes to European Union banking and capital markets rules to strengthen the bloc's financial competition with other global financial centers.
April 14, 2026
Fire Alarm Biz Boss Banned Over £327K Tax Dodging

The owner of two fire alarm companies has been banned from running businesses for six years after dodging more than £327,000 ($444,000) in income tax and value-added tax owed to the U.K.'s tax authority, the Insolvency Service said Tuesday.
April 14, 2026
NCA Can Keep £9M Seized From Cambodia Scam Suspect

The National Crime Agency was granted permission on Tuesday to hold on to millions of pounds in assets that it seized from a lieutenant to a billionaire businessman allegedly behind Cambodia's scam centers.
April 14, 2026
Mortgage Broker Acquires Homebuying Platform In £1.4M Deal

Mortgage Advice Bureau Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it has purchased HomeOwners Alliance, a homebuyers guidance platform, in a deal worth at least £1.4 million ($1.9 million) that it expects will boost the range of its services.
April 14, 2026
Insurers Face Mounting Backlog Of Pension Buyouts

Insurers are facing a growing backlog of pension plans seeking to wind up and close amid an expected surge in such transactions this year, a professional services company said Tuesday.
April 14, 2026
FCA Sets Out Open Finance Push To Widen Consumer Choice

The Financial Conduct Authority set out on Tuesday a program for developing open finance to give consumers and businesses greater control over their financial data in a move to help them secure better deals.

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

Responding To UK's New Late-Payment Enforcement Regime

The U.K. government’s recently announced crackdown on late payment marks a decisive shift from voluntary standards toward an enforcement-led framework designed to alter behavior by changing incentives, increasing accountability and introducing real consequences for persistent poor practices, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
Unpacking HMRC's Decision To Delay Tax Adviser Regime

Lawyers at McDermott discuss why HM Revenue & Customs recently chose to delay the application of its tax adviser registration requirement to financial services firms, such as asset managers, as well as the onerous duties and responsibilities that the current legislation imposes.
What CMA Blog Reveals About Pricing Collusion Scrutiny

The Competition and Markets Authority's recent blog post announcing capabilities to screen for algorithmic collusion demonstrates that the regulator's concerns are crystallizing into enhanced investigative and enforcement actions, broadening the range of commercial arrangements at risk of antitrust scrutiny, say lawyers at Freshfields.
Carillion Fines Show FCA's Broad View Of Directors' Duties

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent issuing of final notices to Carillion’s former group CEO demonstrates that executive directors cannot recklessly allow misleading public announcements that undermine market confidence, says Wendy Saunders at Lewis Silkin.
Assessing Potential Legal Claims From Private Credit Turmoil

Amid the downturn in the private credit markets spurred by multiple high-profile bankruptcies, a New York lawsuit stemming from the collapse of First Brands provides an important case study for investors to help minimize future losses and maximize any potential recovery in the event of a private credit default, say attorneys at Bleichmar Fonti.
What New FCA Rules Mean For Deferred Payment Providers

New rules from the Financial Conduct Authority requiring deferred payment credit providers to obtain a financial services license have two notable implications: providers will be subject to full compliance with the regulator’s consumer duty, and must meet its organizational and governance requirements, says Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.
FCA Stablecoin Sandbox Indicates Shift In Crypto Regulation

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent decision to use four companies to test stablecoin models within its regulatory sandbox provides a mechanism for testing real-world use cases, and shines a light on the U.K.'s broader strategy in the context of global stablecoin legislation, says Ben Lee at Andersen.
Who Will Be 1st To Prosecute New Corporate Fraud Offense?

With no prosecutions under the failure to prevent fraud offense six months on from its introduction, lawyers at BCL Solicitors explore the front-runners in the race to prosecute, and consider whether a private prosecutor might beat a state prosecuting authority to the finish line.
Crypto-Asset Market Downturn Is Driving Litigation Risk

Recent volatility in the crypto-asset market has placed a strain on balance sheets and laid bare weaknesses that may have been overlooked during more stable periods, increasing the risk for disputes over whether procedures or enforcement have been carried out correctly, say lawyers at Kennedys.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: UK Top Court On State Immunity

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling denying Spain's and Zimbabwe's bids to escape arbitration awards using state immunity claims provides significant clarification of the relationship between sovereign immunity and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes system, and reinforces the finality and enforceability of ICSID awards, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
FCA's £44M Nationwide Fine Highlights AML Control Gaps

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent £44 million fine of Nationwide Building Society for anti-money laundering control failures demonstrates that where a firm does not implement appropriate policies and remediation projects, there is a risk that noncompliance will remain unaddressed, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
How UK Securitization Reforms Will Affect Industry

The Prudential Regulation Authority’s recent proposals to reform securitization requirements will offer greater structuring flexibility, reduced operational complexity and lower compliance costs, although with the rationale for imposing stand-alone obligations on institutional investors not clear, dissenting voices are likely, say lawyers at Skadden.
FCA's HTX Action Shows Crypto Ad Rules Must Be Followed

The Financial Conduct Authority’s London High Court action against global crypto-exchange HTX for illegally promoting its services to U.K. consumers sends the message that it will pursue those who flout the rules from a distance and will be key in testing the extent of the U.K.’s regulatory perimeter, says Nick Barnard at Corker Binning.
UK Territories May Yet Prevail On Ownership Disclosure

Despite its recently launched anti-corruption strategy, the U.K. government appears to have little appetite in the short term to impose fully public ownership registers on the overseas territories, a position that will be welcomed by advisers and individuals, says Rupert Cullen at Allectus Law.
Striking A Balance Between AI Innovation And Regulation

The Financial Conduct Authority's recent consultation on the impact of artificial intelligence on financial services highlights the debate between regulators, the government and industry over whether current regulatory frameworks can balance innovation with risk management, say lawyers at Womble Bond.