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Financial Services UK
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March 21, 2024
Influencer Denies Contempt Charge Over 'Lavish Lifestyle'
The founder of a French startup argued against accusations of contempt of court on Thursday after his former company accused him of "flagrantly" breaching a worldwide freezing order by continuing to live a "lavish lifestyle."
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March 21, 2024
Audit Watchdog To Probe UK Sustainability Assurance Market
The Financial Reporting Council on Thursday said it would be studying the quality of sustainability assurance services in the U.K. to ensure the market is providing high-quality guarantees over companies' reporting.
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March 21, 2024
FCA Tells Consumer Lenders To Detect Financial Crime Better
The City watchdog has warned chief executives of consumer lending firms that they must improve on their detection of financial crime.
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March 21, 2024
ECJ Adviser Rejects Taxing Foreign Pension Funds Differently
Taxing dividends paid to foreign public pension funds while exempting dividends paid to the source country's general retirement savings funds contravenes European Union law, an adviser to the bloc's highest court said Thursday, backing Finnish pension funds' challenge of a Swedish law.
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March 21, 2024
Nationwide Agrees To Buy Virgin Money For £2.9B In Cash
Nationwide Building Society said Thursday that it will buy Virgin Money UK for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion) in cash, in a deal backed by the boards of both companies.
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March 20, 2024
Spanish Investment Co. Beats Slovak TM Opposition In EU
A Spanish investment company has won an appeal to revive its trademark application, as European officials ruled that buyers of financial services paid a "high degree of attention" and wouldn't think that the sign was linked to a Slovak company.
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March 20, 2024
Investor Seeks To Toss €10M Case Over Share Deal Row
An investment company urged a London court on Wednesday to throw out a €10.2 million ($11 million) claim by an asset management firm, arguing that it had not consented to the terms of the sale of shares in a luxury Greek resort.
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March 20, 2024
Russian F1 Driver's EU Sanctions Over Oligarch Father Lifted
A Formula One racing driver and son of a Russian oligarch has won his fight to lift European Union sanctions, with a court ruling Wednesday there was insufficient evidence to prove that his business interests were benefiting from his fathers' wealth.
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March 20, 2024
Health And Safety Top Risk For Directors, Global Survey Says
Health and safety is the top risk for directors and officers worldwide, according to a survey published Wednesday, in a "surprise" result partly attributed to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and increasing mental health considerations.
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March 20, 2024
Ex-Russian Minister Fails To Renew Bid To Jail Deripaska
The Court of Appeal dismissed on Wednesday an attempt by Vladimir Chernukhin, a former Russian minister, to have his ex-business associate Oleg Deripaska jailed for contempt of court, finding that a judge had been entitled to conclude the case had not met the criminal standard of proof.
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March 20, 2024
Bank of Cyprus Eyes €137M Investor Return After ECB Nod
The Bank of Cyprus Group said Wednesday it intends to boost shareholder returns to €137 million ($149 million) by launching a share buyback and ramping up dividends, after receiving the green light for both payouts from the regional banking watchdog.
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March 20, 2024
Swiss Watchdog To Inspect UBS Closely For Merger Impact
The Swiss financial markets regulator said Wednesday it plans 40 on-site supervisory reviews at UBS AG in Switzerland and abroad and two in-depth stress tests in 2024 to assess the result of the bank's merger with Credit Suisse last year.
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March 20, 2024
AI Misuse Will Drive Cyber Insurance Demand, Actuary Says
The use of artificial intelligence by criminals and other evolving threats will boost demand for cyber-insurance for at least the next decade, according to analysis published Wednesday by actuarial consultancy OAC.
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March 20, 2024
British Bank CEOs Shift Blame For Pay Fraud To Social Media
Britain's largest banks told a cross-party group of MPs Wednesday they blamed social media and telecommunications companies for a rise in authorized push payment fraud in the banking sector, calling for mandatory requirements to help prevent it.
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March 20, 2024
EU Insurers Warn Regulators Of Gaps In Greenwashing Rules
European insurers have urged the bloc's insurance and pensions watchdog to be consistent and clear with its greenwashing rules for investment products, pointing to discrepancies between jurisdictions and inconsistencies with other sustainability frameworks.
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March 20, 2024
Dentons AML Ruling Deals Blow To SRA's Enforcement Plans
The failure by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to secure a sanction against Dentons over the firm's handling of anti-money laundering checks on a former client is a blow to the regulator's enforcement ambitions which – if upheld – could prompt caution in future prosecutions, lawyers say.
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March 20, 2024
Slaughter And May Cuts Partner Promotions By Half In 2024
Slaughter and May said on Wednesday that it is adding to its bench of up-and-coming leaders by promoting five lawyers to its partnership — only half the number it elevated in 2023.
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March 20, 2024
Ex-LC&F Chief Says SFO And FCA 'Wrecked' His Career
A former director of London Capital & Finance had his career "wrecked" by the finance regulator and fraud investigation agency when they forced the investment company into administration without reason, his lawyers said at his trial Wednesday.
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March 20, 2024
Woman Guilty Of Laundering Proceeds Of £5B Bitcoin Fraud
A British-Chinese woman has been convicted of money laundering in London over allegations that she helped a fugitive Chinese national launder bitcoin converted from a £5 billion ($6.3 billion) investment fraud, it can now be reported.
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March 20, 2024
HMRC Makes U-Turn On Helpline Cuts After Backlash
The U.K. tax authority backtracked Wednesday on plans to close down several helplines for taxpayers from April through September after facing criticism from politicians and industry groups.
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March 20, 2024
Imprisoned Money Laundering Boss Ordered To Pay £3.5M
The imprisoned ringleader of a money laundering network that smuggled tens of millions of pounds in criminal cash out of the U.K. to the United Arab Emirates has been ordered to repay £3.5 million ($4.4 million), the National Crime Agency has said.
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March 20, 2024
Wise Hits Back At Bad Faith TM Allegations From Tech Rival
Payments firm Wise has hit back at a counterclaim from software company WithWise, urging the High Court to reject WithWise's claim that Wise's trademark is invalid because it is overbroad and being used as a legal weapon.
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March 20, 2024
FCA Warns Pension Advisers Over Treatment Of Customers
The Financial Conduct Authority urged pension advisers on Wednesday to look at how well they are considering the needs of their clients after a sweeping review of the sector found significant shortfalls at some companies.
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March 19, 2024
Aspiring Atty Should Be Off HP Jury, Ex-Autonomy Execs Say
Counsel for former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and another defendant accused of deceiving HP into buying Autonomy at an inflated price of $11.7 billion urged a California federal judge Thursday to dismiss a juror who contacted a federal prosecutor during voir dire seeking law career advice.
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March 19, 2024
Indian National Loses Tax Evasion Extradition Appeal
A London judge ruled against Indian national Sanjay Bhandari's bid to challenge the U.K. Home Secretary's decision to order his extradition Tuesday, saying he can presume that India will not breach its extradition treaty with the U.K. by prosecuting him for additional offenses.
Expert Analysis
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UK Tech Cases Warn Of Liability Clause Drafting Pitfalls
The recent U.K. High Court cases Drax Energy Solutions v. Wipro and EE v. Virgin Mobile Telecoms indicate a more literal judicial approach to construing limitations of liability, even when this significantly limits a claimant's recoverable damages, highlighting the importance of carefully drafted liability provisions, say Helen Armstrong and Tania Williams at RPC.
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How The UK Investment Screening Regime Is Taking Shape
A recent order imposing remedies on an acquisition by EDF Energy highlights emerging trends in the U.K. government's national security reviews of transactions under the U.K. National Security and Investment Act, and shows how the U.K. remedy landscape compares to the U.S. regime, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.
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Consultations Underpin Mandatory Fraud Victim Repayment
The U.K. Payment Systems Regulator’s recent consultations on authorized push payment fraud reinforce its June policy expectation, which said that unless there is evidence of gross negligence and the consumer standard of caution has not been followed, providers must reimburse fraud victims, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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Swiss Privacy Law Reforms Present Divergences From GDPR
The differences between Switzerland’s recently reformed Federal Act on Data Protection and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, particularly around data breach reporting and the liability of company officers, will need to be carefully managed by multinationals that may have competing obligations under different laws, say Kim Roberts and Vanessa Alarcon Duvanel at King & Spalding.
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New Legislation May Not Be Needed For Recovery Of Crypto
The recent seizure of cryptocurrency under a civil recovery order raises the issue of whether extended powers under the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill are necessary, with the ability to seize crypto-related items that may be the subject of a search order more likely to be of assistance, says Nicola McKinney at Quillon Law.
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Opinion
Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy
The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.
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German Competition Law May Herald New Enforcement Trend
The recent amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition is expected to significantly expand the powers of the German Federal Cartel Office, and could signal a global trend toward greater direct intervention by national competition authorities and political interference in competition law, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
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New Financial Services Act Leaves Few Firms Untouched
The recently published Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which replaces retained EU law with U.K. legislation, is one of the most significant pieces of post-Brexit regulation, with key practical implications for actors such as investment firms and crypto-asset and payment service providers, say Tim Cant, Emma Tran and Bisola Williams at Ashurst.
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FCA 'De-Banking' Clampdown May Need Gov't Backing
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent clampdown on unfair bank account closures will give customers greater transparency, but with terms usually skewed in the bank’s favor, it is a policy matter for the government to enact further protections for businesses and consumers, say Stephen Rosen and Jean-Martin Louw at Collyer Bristow.
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UK Securitization Reform Opts For Modest Approach, For Now
Recently published consultation papers from the U.K. Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct Authorities on new securitization rules mainly restate retained EU law, but there are some targeted adjustments being proposed and further divergence is to be expected, say Alix Prentice and Assia Damianova at Cadwalader.
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Examining PayPal's Venture Into The Stablecoin Market
PayPal’s recent release of a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar may represent a groundbreaking innovation or could fail as others have before it, and policymakers in the U.K. and the EU will be watching the impact of this new crypto token with a keen eye, say Ben Lee and Dion Seymour at Andersen.
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High Court Dechert Ruling Offers Litigation Privilege Lessons
While the recent High Court ruling in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, which concerned torture conspiracy allegations against the firm, held that litigation privilege can be claimed by a nonparty to proceedings, the exact boundaries of privilege aren't always clear-cut and may necessitate analyzing the underlying principles, says Scott Speirs at Norton Rose.
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FCA Consumer Duty May Pose Enforcement Challenges
The new U.K. Financial Conduct Authority consumer duty sets higher standards of customer protection and transparency for financial services firms, but given the myriad products available across the sector, policing the regulations is going to be a challenging task, says Alessio Ianiello at Keller Postman.
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UK Insolvency Reform Review Shows Measures Are Working
The U.K. Insolvency Service's recently published review of legislative reforms to the corporate insolvency regime demonstrates that despite being underutilized, the measures have been shown to help viable companies survive, and with the current difficult economic environment, will likely be an important aspect of organizational restructuring going forward, says Kirsten Fulton-Fleming at Taylor Wessing.
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More UK Collective Actions On The Horizon After Forex Ruling
A U.K. appeals court's recent decision in Forex case Evans v. Barclays is likely to significantly widen the scope of opt-out collective proceedings that can be brought, paving the way for more class actions by prospective claimants who have previously been unable to bring individual claims, say Robin Henry and Tamara Davis at Collyer Bristow.