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Financial Services UK
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September 23, 2024
7 Questions For Ashurst White-Collar Partner Judith Seddon
Judith Seddon, a partner at Ashurst LLP, made her mark by working on major cases arising from the 2008 financial crisis. Here, she sits down with Law360 to talk about her career, trends in white-collar work and how she ended up in criminal law entirely by accident.
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September 23, 2024
FCA Chair Cleared Over Whistleblower Complaints Handling
Britain's finance watchdog said Monday that its chair had been cleared of wrongdoing over his handling of two whistleblower complaints but that it will strengthen protection for people who sound the alarm after it reviewed its internal policy.
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September 23, 2024
FCA Faults City Bodies' AML Policing As Inconsistent
The Financial Conduct Authority on Monday raised concerns over the inconsistent enforcement of anti-money laundering regulations by City professional bodies, particularly in the legal and accountancy sectors.
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September 23, 2024
UK Insurers' Tax Contribution Hits Record High £18.5B
Members of the Association of British Insurers contributed a record £18.5 billion ($24.6 billion) in tax to the U.K. economy last financial year, the trade body said Monday.
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September 23, 2024
UniCredit Boosts Commerzbank Stake To 21%, Eyes More
Italian lender UniCredit said Monday that it has boosted its stake in German rival Commerzbank from 9% to 21% and is eyeing further investment as it appeared to be laying the groundwork for a possible full takeover.
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September 23, 2024
UK Watchdog Thins Out Pension Plan Reporting Rules
The Pensions Regulator said Monday it has scaled back the amount of data that retirement schemes are expected to submit under new funding regulations, which went live this weekend.
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September 23, 2024
Finance Sector Seeks Regulatory Clarity As Challenges Loom
The financial services sector is pushing for clearer regulations on artificial intelligence and environmental, social and governance criteria, according to research by global law firm DLA Piper.
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September 23, 2024
Clifford Chance-Led BNP To Buy HSBC Unit In Germany
BNP Paribas SA said Monday that it has agreed to buy HSBC's private banking unit in Germany as part of its plans to expand its wealth management arm in a "key strategic market."
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September 20, 2024
BNP Paribas Plugging $5B Into Apollo-Backed Atlas
Private equity giant Apollo and its Atlas SP Partners platform, both advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, on Friday unveiled a strategic partnership with European Union bank BNP Paribas, led by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, that will see the global bank plugging an initial $5 billion investment into the collaboration.
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September 20, 2024
EU Moves To Hike Ukraine Loan To €35B In Case US Pulls Out
The European Commission proposed Friday that the European Union should increase its share of loans to Ukraine backed by frozen and immobilized Russian state assets up to €35 billion ($39.1 billion) from about €18 billion in case the U.S. backs out of its part of a Group of Seven agreement.
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September 20, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen crypto exchange Binance face a new claim from the co-founder of SO Legal, a U.S. immersive art company take on a Bristol venue for copyright violations and Blake Morgan LLP hit with a pension schemes claim by The Trust for Welsh Archeology. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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September 20, 2024
Businessman Gets 18 Months In Prison For COVID Loan Fraud
A British businessman was sentenced to 18 months in prison at a criminal court Friday for dishonestly obtaining a COVID-19 small business loan to repay an associate embroiled in a fight with the Serious Fraud Office.
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September 20, 2024
BoE Tells Small Banks To Choose Preferred Capital Regime
The Bank of England told smaller banks Friday to choose now whether to apply the latest Basel 3.1 capital rules or an alternative simpler regime, freeing them up to focus on growth.
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September 20, 2024
Willkie Guides On African Banking Biz's SocGen Deal
Societe Generale said Friday it has inked a deal to offload its 57.93% stake in its bank based in Guinea Conakry, West Africa, for an undisclosed sum to Atlantic Financial Group, which was advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
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September 20, 2024
DLA Piper Boosts Corporate, Insurance Teams With 2 Partners
DLA Piper has strengthened its European corporate and insurance practices with the recruitment of two experienced partners to its offices in Spain and Italy.
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September 20, 2024
Audit Watchdog Revises Actuarial Standard For Insurers
Britain's accounting watchdog on Friday published a revised version of the rules for actuarial work in the insurance sector that it said reflected recent regulatory changes around delivering good outcomes for consumers.
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September 20, 2024
Pension Savings Plans Warned Over 'Deflation Spiral' Risk
Pension schemes should make contingency plans now for falling inflation, a consultancy has said, as it warned that failure to prepare could result in a destabilizing rush to sell off U.K. government bonds.
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September 20, 2024
EQT To Buy Indian Affordable Housing Finance Biz For $210M
Swedish investment giant EQT plans to buy Indostar Home Finance of India for $120 million, to help its growth as the Asian country struggles with housing shortages.
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September 20, 2024
UK Fraud Reimbursement Plan Could Attract Organized Crime
A program launching in October that allows victims of fraudulent authorized push payments to get reimbursement from banks and payments companies could be exploited by organized crime to cash in with bogus claims, according to lawyers.
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September 19, 2024
London Law Firm Fined For Breaching AML Rules
A London law firm must pay £3,700 ($4,900) in fines plus costs after it failed to comply with strict anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules, the solicitors' watchdog for England and Wales has said.
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September 26, 2024
Wiggin Scores 6-Person Sports Law Team From Walker Morris
Wiggin LLP announced Thursday it has hired a new chief for its sports law practice, along with his five-strong team, as the firm looks to cement its practice in the area.
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September 19, 2024
Lloyds Bank Beats Employees' Settled Hybrid Working Claims
An employment tribunal has nixed claims against Lloyds Bank after ruling that three employees were unlikely to prove the bank had wrongly rejected their request to work from home.
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September 19, 2024
Gov't Urged To Push Collective Defined Benefit Pension Plans
The U.K. government should push forward new collective pension plans with "bold and innovative" thinking to address Britain's retirement adequacy challenge, Hymans Robertson LLP said Thursday.
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September 19, 2024
UK Issues Disclosure Exemptions For Investment Trusts
The government and Financial Conduct Authority announced Thursday plans to reform the U.K. retail disclosure rules in early 2025, with immediate interim exemption of investment trusts from current requirements on cost disclosures to retail investors.
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September 19, 2024
AI Helping Rise In UK Insurance Fraud, Report Shows
Nearly one in five insurance claim handlers believe that many fraud claims now involve fake supporting documents created or altered using artificial intelligence tools, a new report shows.
Expert Analysis
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FCA Brokerage Changes Offer Asset Managers Wider Options
The Financial Conduct Authority’s fast-tracked plan to lift its controversial ban on joint payments to broker-dealers for third-party services will be welcomed by many asset managers wishing to return to a soft commission structure, say Richard Frase and Simon Wright at Dechert.
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What Cos. Should Know About The EU Greenwashing Rules
The EU's recently proposed Green Claims Directive introduces new rules to improve the transparency and honesty of environmental claims in advertising, which will help ensure that consumers receive accurate and reliable information to make informed purchasing decisions, says Daja Apetz-Dreier at Morgan Lewis.
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Sanctions Ruling Opens Door For Enforcer To Clear Up Rules
In Vneshprombank v. Bedzhamov, the High Court recently argued against a broader interpretation of the test on reasonable suspicion for asset freezes, offering the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation an opportunity to clarify when freezes should be applied and respond to judicial criticism of its guidance on financial sanctions, says Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.
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'Debanking' Complaints Highlight Need For Flexibility In AML
The House of Commons' Treasury Committee's concerns about bank account closures have highlighted certain counterproductive features of anti-money laundering laws, and the review offers the opportunity for a more flexible approach, says John Binns at BCL Solicitors.
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Mitigating Incarceration's Impacts On Foreign Nationals
Sentencing arguments that highlighted the disparate impact incarceration would have on a British national recently sentenced for insider training by a New York district court, when compared to similarly situated U.S. citizens, provide an example of the advocacy needed to avoid or mitigate problems unique to noncitizen defendants, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: The Benefits Of Non-EU Venues
In Spain v. Triodos, a Swedish appeal court recently annulled an intra-EU investment treaty award, reinforcing a growing trend in the bloc against enforcing such awards, and highlighting the advantages of initiating enforcement proceedings in common law jurisdictions, such as the U.K., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.
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How Proposed Platforms For Unlisted Co. Trading May Work
The U.K. government is continuing development of its proposed private intermittent securities and capital exchange system to facilitate secondary share trading in private companies through a regulatory sandbox while ironing out details, representing an innovative step for unlisted company liquidity, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Experian Ruling Helps Cos. Navigate GDPR Transparency
In Information Commissioner v. Experian, the Upper Tribunal recently reaffirmed the lawfulness of the company's marketing practices, providing guidance that will assist organizations in complying with the GDPR’s transparency obligations, say lawyers at Jenner & Block.
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Clarity Is Central Theme In FCA's Greenwashing Guidance
Recent Financial Conduct Authority guidance for complying with the U.K. regulator's anti-greenwashing rule sends an overarching message that sustainability claims must be clear, accurate and capable of being substantiated, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
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How New FCA Rules Strengthen Borrower Protections
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published final rules, aimed at strengthening protections for borrowers in financial difficulty by regularizing good practices across the industry, put its previous guidance on a permanent footing and send a clear message to firms that this issue remains a regulatory priority, say James Black, Julie Patient and Mark Aengenheister at Hogan Lovells.
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Opinion
New Property Category Not Needed To Regulate Digital Assets
The U.K. Law Commission's exploration of whether to create a third category of property for digital assets is derived from a misreading of historical case law, and would not be helpful in resolving any questions surrounding digital assets, says Duncan Sheehan at the University of Leeds.
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FTSE Draft Rules Show Impact Of FCA Listing Reforms
FTSE Russell’s recently published provisional rule changes represent a much-awaited indication of its response to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed listing reforms, providing a level of certainty that will assist issuers and advisers in preparing for the implementation of the regime, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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FCA Strikes A Balance With 'Finfluencer' Guidance
With financial firms leveraging social media to engage with a broader audience, the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent "finfluencer" guidance signals a recognition of the imperative to adapt regulatory frameworks while maintaining a firm commitment to consumer protection, say David Allinson and Damien O'Malley at RPC.
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Dissecting Recent Developments Against The Misuse Of NDAs
The U.K. government's recent plans to nullify nondisclosure agreements that prevent victims from reporting crimes should remind lawyers to proactively consider the necessity of such agreements, especially in light of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's warning notice on drafting improper NDAs, say Clare Davis and Macaela Joyes at RPC.
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What To Know About The Russia-Stranded Plane Ruling
The High Court's recent decision in Zephyrus Capital Aviation v. Fidelis Underwriting, rejecting reinsurers' U.K. jurisdiction challenges in claims over stranded planes in Russia, has broad implications for cross-border litigation involving exclusive jurisdiction clauses, says Samantha Zaozirny at Browne Jacobson.