Financial Services UK

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Experts See Risks In FCA's Soft-Touch Response To AI

The Financial Conduct Authority has so far failed to detail its rules on artificial intelligence and is moving toward a reliance on companies to self-report, putting it at risk of deferring excessively to the sector it regulates, legal experts say.
December 09, 2024
Lawyer Fined For Nondisclosures About Mafia-Linked Project

A partner at an Italian firm was fined £50,000 ($64,000) and reprimanded by a London legal disciplinary tribunal Monday after he admitted failing to declare previous findings made against him in Italy and the U.K. related to failed investments in a 'Ndrangheta mafia-linked real estate project.
December 09, 2024
Reckitt Investors To Test Class-Action Rules In Opioid Case

The Court of Appeal will consider on Tuesday whether Reckitt Benckiser shareholders and drug company Indivior can pursue litigation linked to America's opioid crisis as a "representative claim" that is similar to a U.S.-style class action.
December 09, 2024
Labour Appoints Hodge As New Anti-Corruption Czar

The U.K. government announced Monday that Margaret Hodge, a leading campaigner against illicit finance, has been appointed anti-corruption champion in a bid to foster a "hostile environment" for organized crime.
December 09, 2024
Audit Watchdog Floats Revised Rules For Pension Standards

Britain's accounting watchdog on Monday proposed a series of revisions to the actuarial rules used in the retirement savings sector to reflect recent changes in pension regulations and skyrocketing funding levels of schemes in the U.K.
December 09, 2024
Ex-BVI Fund Boss Challenges $400M Ponzi Scheme Debt

The former director of a defunct investment fund urged the top appeals court for U.K. overseas territories on Monday to allow him to challenge a decision by its liquidators to accept a $400 million demand by the bankrupt company behind a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
December 09, 2024
Insurer Launches Estate Planning Cover After Tax Changes

Royal London said on Monday that it has launched an insurance product designed to help consumers with their end-of-life planning, as a growing number of estates are set to become subject to inheritance tax after recent government changes.
December 06, 2024
Allianz Exec Avoids Prison For $7B Investor Fraud

A New York federal judge on Friday declined to sentence a former portfolio manager for Allianz SE's U.S. unit to any time in prison for lying to investors about the riskiness of a group of private investment funds that lost over $7 billion when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
December 06, 2024
Barclays Investors Get Initial OK For $19M Overissuance Deal

A New York federal judge Friday granted the first green light to a $19.5 million settlement for a class of investors who bought Barclays PLC securities and then claimed the banking giant misled them about its internal controls before selling more than $17.6 billion in securities over its maximum registered amount.
December 06, 2024
UK Authorities Say Banker's Rights Safe In US Extradition

U.K. and U.S. authorities urged a pair of London judges on Friday to deny an Austrian banker's bid to overturn a decision allowing his extradition on money laundering charges linked to his alleged role in a massive Brazilian corruption scandal, saying prosecutors would abide by extradition treaties.
December 06, 2024
Car-Leasing Execs Deny Fraud Charges In £88 million Case

Two directors of a failed car leasing group denied fraud charges in a London court Friday in the face of a prosecution brought by the Serious Fraud Office, which says that their allegedly fraudulent statements attracted £88 million ($112 million) from investors.
December 06, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Burberry file a copyright claim against discount store B&M, the former owner of Charlton Athletic file a debt claim against the football club, and British Airways and the U.K. government face a class action brought by flight passengers taken hostage at the start of the First Gulf War. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
December 06, 2024
BonelliErede Adds 2 Private Equity Partners From Chiomenti

BonelliErede has hired two experienced private-equity specialists as partners, as the Italian law firm looks to capture a greater slice of the growing market both domestically and abroad.
December 06, 2024
SRA Seeks To Be Joined As Creditor After Axiom Collapse

The English solicitors' watchdog asked a London court on Friday to allow it to be added to the list of creditors to Axiom Ince Ltd., the law firm that collapsed after its managing partner allegedly misappropriated £65 million ($83 million) of client money.
December 06, 2024
Businessman Owing £80M Gets Prison For Obstructing SFO

A London court sentenced a businessman already serving time for fraud to an additional 13 months in prison Friday for obstructing investigators trying to claw back some of the £80 million ($102 million) he owes for stealing from a software company.
December 06, 2024
UK Asset Managers Get More Time For Sustainability Reports

The Financial Conduct Authority proposed Friday to allow asset managers using a sustainability label an extra four months to produce the first required annual product-level sustainability report.
December 06, 2024
New Tool Rolled Out To Help Firms Meet Consumer Duty Rules

A nonprofit organization has rolled out a free tool designed to help financial services companies measure how well they are complying with the Financial Conduct Authority's Consumer Duty rules.
December 06, 2024
FCA Bosses To Face Treasury Panel After Bruising Month

The Financial Conduct Authority's top brass will be quizzed by an influential panel of lawmakers on Tuesday, hard on the heels of a series of setbacks that saw the regulator rowing back on controversial reforms and called "incompetent" in a parliamentary review.
December 06, 2024
Direct Line Tentatively Accepts Aviva's Higher £3.6B Offer

Direct Line said Friday it has accepted an improved £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion) cash-and-shares takeover offer from Aviva but cautioned that the deal is not final until its British insurance rival makes a firm offer by a deadline of Dec. 25.
December 05, 2024
Ex-Goldman Manager Wins Paternity Leave Sex Bias Claim

An employment tribunal has ruled that Goldman Sachs discriminated against a former compliance manager, finding that the investment bank decided to make him redundant while he was on paternity leave.
December 05, 2024
PIC Insurance Co. Must Hand Control To Founder's Estate

The top appeals court for U.K. overseas territories upheld Thursday a finding that an Antiguan insurance company's board of directors was wrong to refuse to hand majority control of the business to its founder's estate.
December 05, 2024
HMRC Wins Freezing Order Over Alleged £171M Tax Fraud

A court imposed a freezing order against three British businesses on Thursday after the U.K. tax authority accused them of orchestrating a £171 million ($218 million) National Insurance fraud.
December 05, 2024
Gold Trader Denies Knowing Of £200M Laundering Scheme

The former director of a gold trading business has denied any knowledge of a £200 million ($255 million) money laundering scheme as he testified at a criminal trial on Thursday that the business needed informal arrangements to get access to ready cash.
December 05, 2024
EU Fund Managers Seek More Flexible Securitization Rules

European fund managers called Thursday for the securitization regime under review to switch to less specific rules, arguing that investors in such products are sophisticated and already regulated.
December 05, 2024
Pension Funding Is 'Largely Stable,' Lifeboat Fund Says

The net funding position of defined benefit pension schemes in Britain has remained "largely stable" over the last year, the Pension Protection Fund said in a report Thursday.
December 05, 2024
FSB Names Insurers To Apply Resolution Standards

A global standard setter published on Thursday a first list of insurers required to apply its standards in preparing for failure, aiming to reassure markets.

Editor's Picks

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.
5 Questions for Osborne Clarke Partner Nick Price

The Payment Systems Regulator is due to start forcing payment firms to reimburse victims of scams who have been tricked by a fraudster into transferring them money. Here, Law360 talks to Osborne Clarke partner Nick Price about how this new regime could mean uncertainty about compliance.

Expert Analysis

Cross Market Drill Highlights Operational Resilience Priorities

The U.K.’s recent cross-market major infrastructure failure simulation exercise, demonstrates that operational resilience of the financial sector is high on the regulatory agenda, and the findings should ensure that the sector develops collective capabilities to deliver improvements, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
What Partners Should Know About Net Asset Value Loans

The increasing popularity and evolution of net asset value facilities means they continue as an important financing tool to generate liquidity for funds’ portfolios, so general partners looking to capitalize on this expanding market should be mindful of their limited partners' concerns to maximize their value, says Anthony Lombardi at Dechert.
What The Future Of AI In Financial Services Looks Like

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the global financial services industry, with a hybrid model likely to evolve where AI handles routine tasks and humans focus on strategy and decision-making, so financial institutions should work with regulators to establish ethical standards and meet regulatory expectations without stifling innovation, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
FCA Survey Results Reveal Rise In Nonfinancial Misconduct

After a Financial Conduct Authority survey recently reported a significant rise in nonfinancial misconduct, there are a number of preventive steps firms should take to create a healthy workplace environment and mitigate the risk of increased regulatory scrutiny, say lawyers at WilmerHale.
When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records

Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
What UK Security Act Report Indicates For Future Gov't Policy

Following the recent publication of the National Security and Investment Act report on the scrutiny of proposed investments, it will be interesting to see how the act’s powers fit into a government policy that plans to cut regulatory obstacles, while maintaining a hard line on national security, say lawyers at Katten Muchin.
Examining UK And EU Approaches To Sanctions Enforcement

In light of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent £28.9 million fine of Starling Bank for its lax sanctions screening processes, businesses should understand both the U.K.’s and the European Union’s enforcement approaches, the larger sanctions landscape and the importance of cooperation, says Angelika Hellweger at Rahman Ravelli.
Factors Driving EU Competition Policy For The Next 5 Years

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez’s recent nomination as the new European Union commissioner for competition prompts questions about policy and enforcement, with goals to enhance competition in business, implement stronger and faster enforcement, and promote and fund decarbonization likely in her sights during a five-year term, say lawyers at Linklaters.
What UK Procurement Act Delay Will Mean For Stakeholders

The Procurement Act 2023’s delay until February 2025 has sparked debate among contracting authorities and suppliers, and the Labour Party’s preference for a broader reform package demonstrates the challenges involved in implementing legislative changes where there is a change in government, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
How Energy Scheme Is Affecting Large Co. Fund Investment

The latest phase of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme implicates funds with investments in large companies by establishing significant and complex changes to the reporting cycle for mandatory assessments, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
How Companies House Enforcement Powers Are Growing

Companies House's recently increased ability to assess what material is submitted to the U.K. register of companies, and to proportionately enforce where violations have occurred, may require some degree of cultural shift within many companies, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
How New Sanctions Office Will Affect UK Trade Landscape

The recent launch of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will help to create a more comprehensive civil enforcement terrain, but the potential for multiple investigations means businesses should reassess their systems to ensure they do not inadvertently incur civil liability, says Julia Pearce at Robertson Pugh.
FCA Savings Update Focuses On Good Customer Outcomes

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent cash savings update emphasizes its expectations of firms to deliver fair value to consumers by documenting the rationale for actions at each stage, considering customer communications and demonstrating that potential harms are acted upon, say Matt Handfield, Charlotte Rendle and Caroline Hunter-Yeats at Simmons & Simmons.
5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment in UniCredit Bank v. RusChemAlliance, upholding an injunction against a lawsuit that attempted to shift arbitration away from a contractually designated venue, provides helpful guidance on when such injunctions may be available, say attorneys at Fladgate.
FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed changes to payments firms’ safeguarding requirements, with enhanced recordkeeping and fund segregation, seek to bolster existing regulatory provisions, but by introducing a statutory trust concept to cover customers’ assets, represent a set of onerous rules, says Matt Hancock at Greenberg Traurig.