Financial Services UK

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FCA's 2024 Consumer Focus Still Has Firms Guessing

The Financial Conduct Authority shifted further toward results-based financial regulation in 2024 by requiring regulated companies to comply better with its Consumer Duty, forcing managers to make individual interpretations of the regime's often ambiguous requirements where more specific rules are missing.
January 03, 2025
Investment Firm Calls On UK To Rule Out Pension Tax Hikes

The U.K. should pledge no changes to pension tax benefits for the next four years to assuage consumer fears of the government following up on hikes to other taxes with more increases, according to a survey by an investment firm.
January 03, 2025
Complaints Commissioner To Warn FCA About P2P Lending

The Complaints Commissioner for financial regulators has undertaken to write to the Financial Conduct Authority on significant issues in the peer-to-peer lending sector.
January 03, 2025
Nationwide Wins Bid To Ax Contractor's Whistleblowing Claim

A former contractor at Nationwide Building Society had his case against the bank dismissed Friday after an Employment Tribunal judge ruled that he brought his whistleblowing case too late and without good reason for his delay.
January 03, 2025
Former Top Racehorse Owner John Dance Denies £64M Fraud

A former leading racehorse owner denied nine charges in connection with a £64 million ($79.4 million) fraud on Friday following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority into the client accounts of a wealth management firm.
January 03, 2025
Ex-Blake Morgan Legal Executive Misled Lender, SRA Finds

A former chartered legal executive at law firm Blake Morgan LLP has been banned from the profession for making a misleading statement to a mortgage lender client during a property transaction, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said Friday.
January 03, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Chris Eubank Jr. hit with a libel claim from a boxing promoter, a perfume boss face proceedings from his businesses following sanctions violations claims, and Israeli broadcasters file intellectual property claims against BT and Sky. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
January 03, 2025
UK Levy Hike Drives Labor Costs Up In 2025, Think Tank Says

U.K. businesses are facing a spike in labor costs, thanks to the government's decision to raise employers' National Insurance contributions, a payroll levy used to fund social programs, a think tank said Friday.
January 03, 2025
Revolution Beauty Settles Chrysalis Legal Claim Over Shares

Revolution Beauty has settled a potential £45.2 million ($56 million) legal dispute with Chrysalis Investments over share purchases made by the former major shareholder in the U.K. cosmetics company, according to a public statement made to the London Stock Exchange.
January 03, 2025
Trustees Warned On 'Dead Money' Over Pensions Portal

Trustees of pension scheme should carefully decide whether it is in the best interest of their members to connect to the long-awaited online retirement savings dashboards program and incur its associated costs, a retirement savings specialist said Friday.
January 03, 2025
UK Investment Firm To Fight Plan By Saba To Oust Board

Investment company Herald Investment Trust PLC urged shareholders on Friday to vote against plans by Saba Capital Management LP to oust its board after the New York hedge fund criticized the "disastrous" returns to shareholders at seven London-listed trusts.
January 02, 2025
Ex-Kennedys Manager Fined £27K For Due Diligence Failures

A former manager with Kennedys Law LLP has been fined £27,500 ($34,000) for carrying out inadequate client due diligence surrounding a property development fraud that saw directors pocket over £6.5 million of their investors' money.
January 02, 2025
Mayer Brown Hires Structured-Finance Pro From White & Case

Mayer Brown LLP announced on Thursday that it had hired a senior structured-finance lawyer from White & Case LLP in London to add to its strengths representing clients in the private capital market.
January 02, 2025
January Sale Scam Behind Transaction Row Rise, Lloyds Says

Scammers creating fake websites to entice customers to purchase items in last January's online sales caused a 40% spike in credit card transaction disputes that month compared to the normal monthly average, Lloyds Bank said Monday.
January 02, 2025
Barclays Sued For £8.6M By Entrepreneur Over Property Sale

A businessman is suing Barclays for £8.6 million ($10.7 million), alleging that it undervalued his property and that the sale by the bank of his Manchester building at substantially less than it was worth caused a "domino effect" on his finances.
January 02, 2025
EU's 1st Financial Regulation Deal With Japan In Force

The European Union said that a first-ever agreement with Japan designed to improve regulation in banking and other financial services and to combat money laundering has come into force.
January 02, 2025
Elite Law Denies Fault In Lender's £1.9M Loan Fraud Case

An English firm of solicitors has denied a claim that it cost a lender £1.9 million ($2.4 million) by failing to spot that the borrower of a property loan was allegedly a fraudster, telling a London court that it was not obliged to verify his identity.
January 02, 2025
Coventry Building Society Completes £780M Co-Op Deal

The Coventry Building Society confirmed on Thursday that it has now bought The Co-operative Bank, adding that both U.K. lenders will keep their own banking licenses for the time being.
January 01, 2025
European Tax Policy To Watch In 2025

The European Union may have to go it alone on international tax policy in 2025, especially because President-elect Donald Trump's return to power means the U.S. will likely oppose any multilateral solution to taxing the digital economy. Here, Law360 looks at important European tax developments to watch for this year.
January 01, 2025
The UK Corporate Crime Cases To Watch In 2025

Former trader Tom Hayes will get a final shot in 2025 at overturning his conviction for rigging Libor during the financial crisis, a Russian politician will face trial in the first criminal prosecution for breaching sanctions — and Dentons will be back in court over alleged anti-money laundering failures by the law firm.
January 01, 2025
Pensions, Insurance Risk Consolidation On Radar For 2025

The main themes in 2025 for the insurance and pensions sectors will be consolidation and government priorities for greater investment in the economy —although potential legal and systemic risks loom.
January 01, 2025
Regulation To Prioritize UK Growth Over Risk-Aversion In 2025

Financial regulators have committed to giving priority to economic growth over risk-aversion in 2025 under new government priorities, a rebalancing that could create a conflict of interest with a recent focus on protecting consumers.
December 20, 2024
Many Firms Lack AI In Risk Operations, Study Finds

A new study highlighted by UK Finance on Friday has found that almost four in 10 financial services organizations have not implemented artificial intelligence in their risk operations, leaving them with a widening technology gap compared with those who are so prepared.
December 20, 2024
Reading FC Owner Sued For £12M Over Confidentiality Breach

A Louisiana lawyer's company has filed a £12 million ($15 million) claim against a company held by the owner of Reading Football Club for allegedly breaching legally binding provisions in a takeover deal.
December 20, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant."
December 20, 2024
Law Firm Awarded £4.2M For Co.'s Mishandled PPI Claims

A London court awarded a specialist litigation law firm almost £4.2 million ($5.3 million) on Friday for the costs of a professional services company's botched handling of payment protection insurance claims.

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

Applying New FCA Guidance On Control Of Financial Firms

Buyers seeking to acquire or increase their stakes in U.K. financial services firms can streamline prudential review of their transactions by understanding the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published guidance on updated change-in-control regulations, says Mark Chalmers at Davis Polk.
Anticipating The UK's Top M&A Trends In 2025

Conversations with market participants are focusing on five key questions about 2025's transactional markets, ranging from issues of artificial intelligence, to the boom in takeovers and increased regulatory scrutiny, says Layla D’Monte at King & Spalding.
Businesses Should Expect A Role In Tackling Fraud Next Year

If one word sums up a key trend in financial crime enforcement in 2024, it would be fraud, as enforcement agencies clamped down on consumer-focused crime — and businesses will need to be prepared to play a part in 2025 with the coming of the "failure to prevent fraud" offense, says Jessica Parker at Corker Binning.
What FCA's 2024 Changes Suggest For Enforcement In 2025

Though the Financial Conduct Authority is likely to enter 2025 hungry for enforcement wins after fielding intense criticism in 2024 over proposed policy amendments, firms can glean ideas for mitigating their risk from heightened scrutiny by studying the regulator's changing behavior from the year just past, says Imogen Makin at WilmerHale.
How The Wirecard Judge Addressed Unreliability Of Memory

In a case brought by the administrator of Wirecard against Greybull Capital, High Court Judge Sara Cockerill took a multipronged and thoughtful approach to a common problem with fraudulent misrepresentation claims — how to assess the evidence of what was said at a meeting where recollections differ and where contemporaneous documentation is limited, says Andrew Head at Forsters.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Cross-Border Contract Lessons

A U.K. court's decision this month in Banco De Sabadell v. Cerberus provides critical lessons for practitioners involved in drafting and litigating cross-border investment agreements, and offers crucial insight into how English courts apply foreign law in complex cross-border disputes, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
Practical Considerations For Private Fund Side Letters

Side letters are a common way of formalizing negotiated arrangements between a private fund and a particular investor — and as the number and length of side letters per fundraise steadily climb, managers must consider the material legal risks carefully, say lawyers at Dechert.
Preparing For The Next 5 Years Of EU Digital Policy

The new European Commission appears poised to build on the artificial intelligence, data management and digital regulation groundwork laid by President Ursula von der Leyen's first mandate, with a strong focus on enforcement and further enhancement of previous initiatives during the next five years, say lawyers at Steptoe.
Key Takeaways From EU's Coming Digital Act

The European Union's impending Digital Operational Resilience Act will necessitate closer collaboration on resilience, risk management and compliance, and crucial challenges include ensuring IT third-party service providers meet the requirements on or before January 2025, says Susie MacKenzie at Coralytics.
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.