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Financial Services UK
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March 15, 2024
Fintech Co. R8 Capital Extends £50M Redwood Bank Deal
Struggling fintech company R8 Capital said Friday that it now is likely to complete the approximately £50 million ($63.7 million) acquisition of the parent company of specialist business lender Redwood Bank in August to "accommodate certain aspects of the transaction."
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March 15, 2024
Scottish Mortgage Plans £1B In Buybacks Over 2 Years
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust said Friday it is planning to spend at least £1 billion ($1.3 billion) over the next two years to reward shareholders after a sharp rise in cash flow from its portfolio companies.
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March 15, 2024
Pension Watchdog Says Poor-Value Plan Initiative Is Working
The U.K.'s retirement savings watchdog said that its fight against poor-value pension schemes is working and that plans are choosing to wind up following government regulations introduced to drive improvements for members.
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March 15, 2024
One-Day US Settlement Will Jeopardize Global FX Market
European asset managers have warned central banks and regulators that the planned U.S. move in May to settle foreign exchange trades more quickly will make billions of dollars in daily settlements unsafe, putting the global market at risk.
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March 22, 2024
Charles Russell Speechlys Hires Ex-Burges Salmon Funds Pro
Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has recruited a former head of private investment funds at Burges Salmon LLP in a bid to build out its profile in the market.
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March 14, 2024
Lehman Brothers Can't Undo Trial Loss Over Crisis-Era CDS
A New York appeals court on Thursday affirmed a bench trial loss Lehman Brothers' bankrupt European unit suffered last year in a suit attempting to claw back nearly half a billion dollars from Assured Guaranty over losses on credit default swaps tied to the 2008 financial crisis.
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March 14, 2024
UK Top Court Wrongly Enforced $356M Award Against Romania
Britain violated European Union law when the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that two Swedish food investors could resume their efforts to enforce a $356 million arbitral award against Romania, despite findings within the EU that the award is illegal, the bloc's highest court found on Thursday.
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March 14, 2024
Barclays Beats Race Bias Claims From Cameroonian Ex-VPs
Barclays did not discriminate against three of its former vice presidents based on their ethnicity or Cameroonian nationality, but two of the bankers proved it mishandled their performance reviews in light of disabilities they had, a tribunal has ruled.
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March 14, 2024
FCA Warns Firms To Give Fair Value Under Consumer Duty
The Financial Conduct Authority warned firms on Thursday that it will act on significant concerns about failure to deliver fair value for savers under the Consumer Duty regime.
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March 14, 2024
Clara Takes Debenhams Pension Scheme In Landmark Deal
All 10,400 members of the retirement savings plan of collapsed retailer Debenhams will have their promised pension benefits restored after Clara-Pensions announced Thursday it would take on the scheme in the U.K.'s second-ever superfund transaction.
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March 14, 2024
Craig Wright Timeline: From Australia To The London Courts
Computer scientist Craig Wright's one-man mission to prove to the courts that he is the elusive creator of bitcoin came to an end Thursday as a London judge rejected his claim in one of the most-discussed intellectual property cases in the English courts. Here, Law360 looks back at the history of Wright's claims.
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March 14, 2024
Financier Denies Misusing Proceeds In Mike Ashley Dispute
Financier Amanda Staveley has denied misusing a £10 million ($12.8 million) loan provided by former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to pay a consultant, saying it was a legitimate brokerage payment to secure the takeover of the English football club.
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March 14, 2024
Advisers Want Tax Reduction For Pensions, Aegon Says
Many British financial advisers want the government to reduce taxes as part of pension reforms following the next general election, insurance firm Aegon UK said Thursday.
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March 21, 2024
DWF Hires Clyde & Co. Pro David Wynn As New Partner
DWF LLP has bolstered its global insurance practice by hiring David Wynn as a new partner from Clyde & Co. LLP, where he headed the global legacy solutions practice for the past 10 years.
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March 14, 2024
Ex-Libor Trader Hayes Claims Judge Denied Him Fair Trial
The conviction of former UBS trader Tom Hayes for rigging Libor is "unsafe" and should be overturned because the judge overseeing his trial committed a "cardinal" breach of his rights by telling jurors he had submitted false rates, his lawyer told the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
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March 14, 2024
Insurer Completes Full Construction Co. Pension Scheme Deal
Insurer Just Group said on Thursday that it has completed a £37 million ($47.3 million) buy-out of a pension scheme sponsored by a leading engineering and construction company, finishing the process that it started in 2013.
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March 14, 2024
Wright Is Not The Inventor Of Bitcoin, Judge Rules
A London judge ruled Thursday that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is not the pseudonymous inventor of bitcoin, ruling that the evidence against his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto was "overwhelming."
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March 14, 2024
CMS Leads Rothesay £6B Buy Of Scottish Widows Portfolio
Pension insurer Rothesay Life said Thursday that it will buy Scottish Widows' £6 billion ($7.7 billion) portfolio of bulk annuities from Lloyds Banking Group PLC, in a transaction guided by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.
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March 13, 2024
Clyde & Co. Denies Negligence, Calls Ex-Client's Claim 'Loser'
Clyde & Co. LLP urged a London judge Wednesday to block a construction magnate's $88 million negligence suit against his former lawyers in a lost suit over a failed investment, arguing that the claim for which they acted for him was a "loser at all times."
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March 13, 2024
Marketing Boss Says LC&F Services Provided In 'Good Faith'
The head of a marketing company that provided services to London Capital & Finance did so in "good faith," and had no knowledge of an alleged Ponzi scheme, his lawyer told a London trial on Wednesday over the £237 million ($304 million) investment scandal.
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March 13, 2024
EU Parliament Overwhelmingly Passes Landmark AI Law
European Union lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday in favor of a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence law, in a bid to help facilitate innovation while safeguarding the bloc's fundamental rights.
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March 13, 2024
Pensions Watchdog Workers Call Off Strike, Agree To Pay Deal
Some 400 workers at The Pensions Regulator suspended their strike action after agreeing to a pay increase aligned with guidelines set for government employees, the watchdog said Wednesday.
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March 13, 2024
Traders To Fight Rate-Rigging Convictions In Landmark Appeal
Two former traders who say they were made scapegoats for public anger during the last financial crisis challenge their convictions for rigging benchmark interest rates on Thursday in a case that could undermine the legal theory that underpinned dozens of prosecutions.
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March 13, 2024
'Significant' Gaps Remain In UK Pension Provision, FCA Says
Automatic enrollment should be recognized as a success, but gaps around the retirement saving provision remain, the Financial Conduct Authority's chief executive said Wednesday, raising questions about Britain's current and future pension landscape.
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March 13, 2024
Energy Co. Founder Denies Owing Abraaj Investment $41M
The founder of an energy company has denied an investment management firm's claim it is owed $41 million by the electrical manufacturer that part-owned his business, telling a London court that the alleged debt was transferred to a UAE bank.
Expert Analysis
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Cos. Using AI Should Note Regulators' Privacy Concerns
The past year’s unprecedented explosion in the use of artificial intelligence tools has sparked fears over the way personal data may be collected and treated, and organizations adopting AI will need to ensure that they have a lawful basis to use data collected in this way, says Paula Williamson at Excello Law.
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Comparing EU And UK Proposals To Regulate ESG Ratings
Ferdisha Snagg and Andreas Wildner at Cleary examine the key aspects of the EU proposal for regulating environmental, social and governance rating activities and draw comparisons to the U.K. proposal regarding scope, substantive provider obligations on regulated providers and the likely timeline for adoption and implementation.
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Digital Assets Consultation Offers First Step In Regulation
The recently published International Organization of Securities Commissions consultation intending to establish coordinated international regulation of cryptocurrency and digital assets, will benefit and protect retail investors against financial crime risk, also allowing legitimate market entrants to distinguish themselves from less scrupulous participants, says Fred Saugman at WilmerHale.
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EU And UK Crypto-Asset Consumer Rights Look Set To Differ
The U.K. government's recent consultation paper lacks an extended cooling off period to cancel crypto-asset purchases, which notably deviates from the European Union Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, but depending on feedback, the U.K. may eventually adopt similar consumer protection measures, say Felicity Forward and Matt Green at Shoosmiths.
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EU Sustainability Initiatives Will Affect Emissions Trading
The measures recently adopted by the EU in its "Fit for 55" legislative package to revise its emissions trading system and establish a carbon border adjustment mechanism have far-reaching implications for companies needing to implement changes to offset the potential effects of their business operations, say Melanie Bruneau, Giovanni Campi and Annette Mutschler-Siebert at K&L Gates.
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The Benefits Of Uniformity In EU Anti-Corruption Proposals
The proposed directive requiring European Union member states to incorporate uniform anti-bribery measures would bring greater harmony and consistency, doing much to facilitate the prevention of bribery and drive common standards in the compliance culture of companies, say lawyers at White & Case.
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What To Know About 'Prior Obligations' Sanctions Exemption
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation recently issued a "prior obligations" general license authorizing U.K. persons to receive funds or economic resources owed to them by any person targeted by U.K. asset freeze sanctions, and it is novel for its scope but by no means a panacea, say Jane Shvets and Konstantin Bureiko at Debevoise.
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Recent Cases Mark Maturation Of CAT Class Cert. Approach
The Competition Appeal Tribunal's recent refusal to grant collective proceedings applications against Visa and MasterCard in the Commercial and Interregional Card Claims case shows that the tribunal takes its role as a gatekeeper seriously, and that it will likely continue to be difficult for defendants to defeat certification first time around, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Why The UK Needs Tougher Fraud Enforcement
The Crown Court's recent conviction of Anthony Constantinou for running a Ponzi scheme is a rare success for prosecutors, highlighting the legal system's painfully slow course when it comes to complex fraud, and the need for significant funds and resources in the fight against financial crime, says James Clark at Quillon Law.
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What New FCA Management Will Mean For Enforcement
Therese Chambers’ first speech since becoming the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s joint executive director provided insightful observations about the expected behaviors of firms and their legal advisers during investigations, indicating the advent of a proactive, prosecution-minded enforcement agency trying to do the right thing, says Richard Burger at WilmerHale.
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Global M&A Outlook: Slow But Moving Along
Global merger and acquisition markets had a tough start to the year, with inflation, rising interest rates and the Ukraine conflict knocking sentiment, but in the macroeconomic, deal makers have continued to unearth pockets of activity to keep deal volumes ticking over, say lawyers at White & Case.
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Why Int'l Investors Should Keep An Eye On German M&A Regs
While German reform proposals will digitize corporate law formalities that have long been immune to change, international limitations remain, particularly for countries outside the European Union, as Germany moves to tighten regulatory hurdles to control inbound investment, say Marcus Geiss and Sonja Ruttmann at Gibson Dunn.
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How B2B Data Sharing Could Unlock Untapped Value
B2B data sharing offers organizations an opportunity to extract greater value from an existing asset, and although it is essential to consider the legal and regulatory framework and maintain a sound governance structure, with strong support businesses that share data are likely to grow more than those that do not, say Jocelyn Paulley and Helen Davenport at Gowling WLG.
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Why Coordinated UK Crypto Regulation Is Needed
The slew of recently published crypto-sector consultations and reports differ in their treatment of the currency, so the industry must coordinate to establish regulations that can weather the proliferation of fraud while supporting the U.K.'s race to become a world leader in digital assets, says Nicola McKinney at Quillon Law.
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5 Code Of Ethics Recommendations For FTSE 350 Companies
In light of the U.K. Institute of Business Ethics' recent report on the FTSE 350, companies should regularly update their code of ethics in order to emphasize to employees and business partners the importance they place on following good practice, say attorneys at Norton Rose.