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Financial Services UK

Exterior of the home of the High Court and appeals court in London at twilight.

Glencore Ruling Broadens Scope For Challenge Over Privilege

A recent court ruling that expands legal advice privilege to cover some internal corporate communications gives companies greater scope for withholding sensitive material but is likely to prompt challenges over whether those documents meet the test for protection, lawyers say.

Image of a EU flag on a central processing unit.

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.

April 22, 2026
Class Rep Seeks To Revive £2.7B FX Claim As Opt-In Action

A competition law consultant is fighting to relaunch a £2.7 billion ($3.65 billion) class action against major banks over alleged foreign exchange-rigging as an opt-in claim after a tribunal rejected it as an opt-out case.
April 22, 2026
Lenders Say Group Motor Finance Case Should Be Split Up

Several car finance providers sought on Wednesday to overturn a ruling that allows more than 5,000 customers to bring claims against them as a group, arguing at the Court of Appeal that they should be forced to bring the claims individually.
April 22, 2026
Kirkland-Led Wendel Takes Control Of Rival In €386M Deal

European investment firm Wendel said Wednesday that it has acquired a controlling 56% stake in global private investor Committed Advisors from its founders for approximately €386 million ($453 million), strengthening its asset management platform and presence in the secondary markets.
April 22, 2026
FCA Leads 1st Raids On Illegal Crypto-Traders

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it has led its first operation with other enforcement agencies to disrupt illegal peer-to-peer crypto-trading in locations across London.
April 22, 2026
Regulators Cut Burden On Senior Managers In Rule Changes

The Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulatory Authority set out on Wednesday finalized reforms to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime that will reduce costs and increase flexibility for businesses.
April 22, 2026
FCA Faces Challenge Over Motor Finance Redress Formula

A consumer organization said Wednesday that it will bring a legal challenge to review how the Financial Conduct Authority's £7.5 billion ($10 billion) motor finance redress system is calculated, the first time such a program has been tested.
April 22, 2026
Sweden's Norion Builds Wealth Manager Offering With Deal

Swedish bank Norion said in a statement Wednesday that it will buy investment company Strand Kapitalförvaltning AB as it seeks to build up its wealth management offering to 15 billion Swedish kronor ($1.6 billion) of assets under management.
April 22, 2026
Pensions Regulator Names New Chair Amid Reforms

The government has appointed Emma Douglas as the new chair of The Pensions Regulator, placing a veteran industry figure at the helm of the watchdog during a period of wide-ranging reform.
April 21, 2026
EU Adopts Anti-Corruption Law With 5% Turnover Fines

The European Union gave the final go-ahead Tuesday to a new directive on combating corruption, with fines of up to 5% of world turnover or €40 million ($47 million), adding a potential aggravating factor if offenders are banks or law firms.
April 21, 2026
Greece Defends Crisis-Era €62B Bond Call At Trial

Greece urged a London court on Tuesday to confirm the validity of its buyback of GDP-linked bonds first issued for €62.4 billion ($73 billion) in 2012 during the country's debt crisis, on the first day of a trial against the bonds' trustee.
April 21, 2026
Insurer Royal London Launches 'Targeted Support' Service

Royal London has become the first British company to launch a tailored investment advice service for its customers under the new "targeted support" regime designed by the financial regulator to bridge the gap between free guidance and personalized advice.
April 21, 2026
CMS, Eversheds Steer Superfund Clara On £43M Pension Deal

Defined benefit superfund Clara-Pensions said Tuesday that it has completed a pension deal worth £43 million ($58 million) for film industry company Videndum PLC, guided by Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP and Eversheds Sutherland.
April 21, 2026
FCA Picks 8 More Companies To Test AI On Customers

The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday that it has chosen Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group's Scottish Widows, UBS and five other companies for a second round of live testing of artificial intelligence on real customers.
April 21, 2026
Law Commission Mulls New Consumer Class Action Regime

The Law Commission has said that it is considering the introduction of a new class action regime for consumer law claims that could replicate the collective proceedings system at the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
April 21, 2026
EQT Raises $15.6B For Asia-Pacific Private Equity Fund

EQT AB said Tuesday that it has raised $15.6 billion for a fund that will give investors in the Swedish private equity firm access to technology and healthcare companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
April 21, 2026
The 2026 UK Lawyer Satisfaction Survey: Where Do You Stand?

How is your work-life balance? Are you content with your compensation and opportunities for advancement at work? Take the 2026 Law360 UK Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey and share your thoughts.
April 20, 2026
Irish Co. Defeats £18M Tax Appeal Over Lehman Bros. Debt

HM Revenue & Customs can't retain over £18 million ($24.3 million) in a withholding tax claimed by an Irish company on debt interest from collapsed bank Lehman Brothers, a London court ruled Monday.
April 20, 2026
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week delivered another mix of procedural rulings, fiduciary duty disputes and deal litigation, highlighting both the court's gatekeeping role and its continued focus on stockholder rights and transactional fairness.
April 20, 2026
Reform UK Deputy Says His Co. May Have Made Tax Errors

Reform UK deputy Richard Tice said "some errors" are inevitable when running multiple businesses following a report that his investment company failed to pay almost £100,000 ($135,000) in corporate tax, adding that he would pay up if it is found he owes more taxes.
April 20, 2026
Refinitiv Settles Children's World-Check Privacy Claim

A court approved a settlement Monday between Refinitiv and two grandchildren of Serbian politicians over a claim that they were unlawfully identified as relatives of politically exposed people, before what would have been the first trial to consider data protection law and a know-your-client database.
April 20, 2026
EU Banks Urge Lawmakers To Stop Overlap In Regulations

A trade body for European financial institutions called on lawmakers on Monday to finalize the bloc's single market for banking in order to address overlapping regulatory requirements that restrict competitiveness.
April 20, 2026
FCA Sets Out 2026 Program For Helping Innovation And AI

The Financial Conduct Authority set out its innovation priorities for 2026 to 2027 on Monday, promising better guidance for businesses to use its testing routes for developing new models in technologies including artificial intelligence.
April 20, 2026
Hermes, Shell Funds Join Entain Claim Over Bribery Probe

Four investment vehicles, including two Federated Hermes funds, a Shell pension fund and another managed by Morningstar, have joined a multimillion-pound claim alleging that Entain PLC failed to warn them of alleged bribery-related misconduct tied to its Turkish operations.
April 20, 2026
UniCredit Presses Commerzbank Deal With Overhaul Pitch

UniCredit SpA unveiled plans on Monday to combine its German subsidiary with Commerzbank AG as it set out a transformation program that it said would increase its target's net income by €600 million ($706 million) in 2028.
April 17, 2026
Macquarie Selling Romanian Grid Network For About $825M

Premier Energy Group said Friday it has agreed to acquire Romania-based electricity distributor Distributie Energie Oltenia, or DEO, from funds managed by Australia's Macquarie Asset Management for about €700 million ($825 million).

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

Lessons From Spain's Decision Not To Enforce UK Judgment

In a recent ruling, a Barcelona court refused to recognize a €365 million U.K. judgment against Cerberus Capital, showing that a foreign decision may be sound, final and enforceable in its own jurisdiction, yet still be refused entry where it threatens to displace a dispute already before the Spanish courts, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square.
How New EU Third-Country Branch Rules Will Affect UK Banks

The European Union's new directive on third-country branch rules for non-EU banks will have a significant impact on U.K. banks, which will no longer be permitted to provide core cross-border services into the EU without a local presence, unless an applicable exemption or carveout applies, say lawyers at Farrer & Co.
Lessons From ESMA's Record €1.4M Trade Repository Fine

The European Securities and Markets Authority's recent fine against REGIS-TR for data and procedure breaches under Market Infrastructure and Securities Financing Regulations demonstrates that a license confers no immunity from sanctions, and that dually registered trade repositories face a greater financial exposure in the event of noncompliance, say lawyers at White & Case.
CMA's 5-Point Plan Signals Shift In Enforcement Priorities

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recently published annual plan is notable for a strong shift toward prioritizing U.K. enforcement of consumer protection laws, encouraging innovation and policing public procurement markets for anticompetitive conduct, which contrasts with previous plans that focused on competition in digital markets, complex merger review and sustainability, say lawyers at Cooley.
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.