Expert Analysis

• FCA Proposals Reduce Consumer Duty Compliance Burden

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to streamline the consumer duty regime represent a pragmatic response to industry concerns, with a move toward sector-specific supervision and potentially narrowing its scope for wholesale and cross-border business, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.

• How New Companies House ID Rules Affect Businesses

  

  Lawyers at Shepherd & Wedderburn discuss the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act’s new mandatory identity verification requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control, set to go live next week, which aim to curb fraud by improving the reliability of information held by Companies House.

• What EU Securitization Proposals Signal For Risk Transfers

  

  If implemented, recent amendments to the European Union securitization framework are expected to have an unambiguously positive effect on significant risk transfer markets, providing greater consistency and necessary flexibility, say lawyers at McDermott.

• What To Know About EU's Reimposition Of Sanctions On Iran

  

  Lawyers at Steptoe discuss the European Union’s recent reimposition of trade and financial sanctions against Iran, which will introduce legal and operational constraints that affect EU companies' commercial activities in the region.

• FCA Crypto Proposals Herald Tougher Oversight For Firms

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to extend regulation to crypto-asset activities will bring parity, but implementation of the operational resilience requirements and enhanced financial crime controls will present compliance challenges, says Michelle Kirschner at Gibson Dunn.

• What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

  

  Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

• EU-US Data Transfer Ruling Offers Reassurance To Cos.

  

  The European Union General Court’s recent upholding of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework in Latombe v. European Commission, although subject to appeal, provides companies with legal certainty for the first time by allowing the transfer of European Economic Area personal data without relying on alternative mechanisms, say lawyers at Wilson Sonsini.

• What EBA Report Means For Non-EU Financial Firms

  

  In a recent report concerning unregulated third country banks, the European Banking Authority decided not to extend a bank-to-bank exemption under the Capital Requirements Directive, raising a number of compliance issues for cross-border services, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.

• What To Note From FCA, Gov't Financial Growth Proposals

  

  Recent Financial Conduct Authority and government proposals for financial services reform are positive developments for firms, signaling a drive to push forward growth and a willingness to be flexible in areas of regulation that the industry has long raised as barriers, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.

• FCA Misconduct Guide Will Expand Firms' Duty To Investigate

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on workplace nonfinancial misconduct will place a greater onus on compliance and investigations teams, clarifying that the question to ascertain is whether the behavior is justifiable and proportionate, say lawyers at Ashurst.

• Mansion House Speech Heralds New Financial Regulatory Era

  

  The chancellor of the exchequer's recent Mansion House speech introduced a sweeping commitment to modernize regulation, which will require U.K. retail banks and building societies to revisit core assumptions, and allow lawyers to play a key role in shaping the new rules, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.

• Key Points From EU Proposals To Ease Securitization Rules

  

  The European Commission’s recently proposed securitization framework amendments aim to relax existing rules, such as by reducing due diligence requirements and removing the need for investors to conduct certain prescribed compliance verifications by sponsors or original lenders, say lawyers at McDermott.

• Challenges Law Firms Face In Recruiting Competitor Teams

  

  Since the movement of lawyer teams from a competitor can bring legal considerations and commercial risks into play, both the target and recruiting firms should be familiar with the relevant limited liability partnership deed to protect their business, say lawyers at Fox & Partners.

• What To Expect As FCA Preps To Launch AI Testing Service

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming artificial intelligence live testing service will provide participants with access to appropriate regulatory expertise, but to gauge the tool’s potential utility, it is important to understand how it fits in with what the regulator is already doing, says Omar Salem at Fox Williams.

• EU Banking Watchdog Regulations Herald New AML Era

  

  The European Banking Authority’s forthcoming anti-money laundering package will set a framework for compliance across the European Union by redefining the rules of engagement between financial institutions and supervisors, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.