Financial Services UK

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • September 19, 2024

    EU Wrong To Block Berlusconi's Bank Stake, Top Court Rules

    Europe's highest court ruled Thursday that the European Central Bank was wrong to decide that a prior conviction for tax fraud prevented former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from holding a stake in a bank in the country.

  • September 19, 2024

    Close Brothers To Sell Wealth Manager To Oaktree For £200M

    Close Brothers said Thursday that it has agreed to offload its wealth management business to Oaktree Capital Management for up to £200 million ($265 million) in a bid to boost its capital position and "navigate the current uncertain environment."

  • September 18, 2024

    City Presses For Strategy To Draw £7.7B In New Foreign Cash

    The governing body of the City of London urged the government on Thursday to design a strategy that will entice foreign sovereign investors to plow an estimated £7.7 billion ($10.2 billion) of additional capital into the domestic economy.

  • September 18, 2024

    FCA Accuses 4 Of Textile Co. Pump-And-Dump Scheme

    Four businessmen connected to Worthington Group were accused by the Financial Conduct Authority at the beginning of a London criminal trial Wednesday of being involved in a scheme to artificially pump up the price of shares of the former textiles company while it was effectively insolvent.

  • September 18, 2024

    Privinvest Says Missing Disclosure Made Fair Trial Impossible

    A shipbuilding company is seeking to dodge having to pay approximately $2 billion in damages awarded to Mozambique over a bribery scheme that wrecked the country's economy, urging a court to stay enforcement of the judgment to await the outcome of any appeal.

  • September 18, 2024

    Dashboards Program To Use Gov't Login Service Details

    Savers will be able to use the U.K. government's standardized login service to prove their identity and access the long-awaited pension dashboards once they go live, the program has said.

  • September 18, 2024

    FCA Finds Largest Banks Challenged To Assess Fair Value

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that the largest banks and building societies have found it hard to assess value for customers in cash savings, as required by the Consumer Duty.

Expert Analysis

  • Russia Ruling Shows UK's Robust Jurisdiction Approach

    Author Photo

    An English High Court's recent decision to grant an anti-suit injunction in the Russia-related dispute Renaissance Securities v. Chlodwig Enterprises clearly illustrates that obtaining an injunction will likely be more straightforward when the seat is in England compared to when it is abroad, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • How New Loan Origination Regime Will Affect Fund Managers

    Author Photo

    Although the recent publication of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive II represents more of an evolution than a revolution, the leverage limitations applicable to loan-originating funds are likely to present practical challenges for European credit fund managers, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • How EU Sustainability Directive Will Improve Co. Reporting

    Author Photo

    The need for organizations to make nonfinancial disclosures under the recently adopted EU Sustainability Reporting Standards will significantly change workforce and human rights reporting, and with the objective of fostering transparency, should bring about an increased focus on risks, policies and action plans, say Philip Spyropoulos and Thomas Player at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms

    Author Photo

    The Supreme Court's recent decision in Canada Square v. Potter, which found that the claimant's missold payment protection insurance claim was not time-barred, is bad news for affected financial services firms, as there is now certainty over the law on the postponement of limitation periods, rendering hidden commission claims viable, say Ian Skinner and Chris Webber at Squire Patton.

  • What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings

    Author Photo

    The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.

  • UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden

    Author Photo

    The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.

  • Economic Crime Act Exposure: What Companies Can Expect

    Author Photo

    The intention of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is to make it easier to attribute criminal liability to companies if a senior manager has committed an offense, but the impact on corporate criminal convictions depends on who qualifies as a senior manager and the evidential challenges in showing it, say Hayley Ichilcik and Julius Handler at MoFo.

  • FCA Promotions Review Sends A Strong Message To Firms

    Author Photo

    The recent FCA review into firms' compliance with the rules on promoting high-risk investments to retail clients clarifies that it expects the letter and the spirit of the rules to be followed, and given the interplay with the consumer duty, there are wider implications at stake, say Marina Reason and Chris Hurn at Herbert Smith.

  • When Can Bonuses Be Clawed Back?

    Author Photo

    The High Court's recent decision in Steel v. Spencer should remind employees that the contractual conditions surrounding bonuses and the timing of any resignation must be carefully considered, as in certain circumstances, bonuses can and are being successfully clawed back by employers, say Merrill April and Rachael Parker at CM Murray.

  • The State Of UK Litigation Funding After Therium Ruling

    Author Photo

    The recent English High Court decision in Therium v. Bugsby Property has provided a glimmer of hope for litigation funders about how courts will interpret this summer's U.K. Supreme Court ruling that called funding agreements impermissible, suggesting that its adverse effects may be mitigated, says Daniel Williams at DWF Law.

  • UK Shareholding Report A Missed Opportunity For New Tech

    Author Photo

    The recommendations in the U.K. Digitization Taskforce's recent report on digitizing and improving the U.K. shareholding framework are moderate but not revolutionary, and its failure to recommend digital ledger technology will impede a full transformation of the system, say Tom Bacon and Andrew Tsang at BCLP.

  • Tools M&A Deal Makers Can Use To Bridge Valuation Gaps

    Author Photo

    As macroeconomic headwinds reset valuation expectations, parties to merger and acquisition are increasingly looking to methods such as earnouts, vendor financing and minority transactions to bridge the valuation gap and get deals done, says Philip Herbst at Cleary.

  • Navigating The Novel Challenges Facing The Legal Profession

    Author Photo

    The increasing prominence of ESG and AI have transformed the legal landscape and represent new opportunities for lawyers, but with evolving regulations and the ever-expanding reach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, law firms should ensure that they have appropriate policies in place to adapt to these challenges, say Scott Ashby and Aimee Talbot at RPC.

  • Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint

    Author Photo

    In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.

  • Economic Crime Act Brings Changes For Limited Partnerships

    Author Photo

    The recently passed Economic Crime Act introduces significant financial transparency obligations for new and existing U.K. limited partnerships, and with criminal consequences for noncompliance, a degree of advance consideration is strongly advised, say Amelia Stawpert and Alex Jones at Hogan Lovells.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Financial Services UK archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!