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Financial Services UK
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August 14, 2024
Pension Funding Surplus Rises To £475B Despite Rate Cut
The funding surplus of British retirement savings plans rose to £475.5 billion ($611 billion) at the end of July, according to official figures released on Wednesday, even as experts warned of the need to hedge against fresh interest rate cuts.
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August 14, 2024
EU Watchdog Sets Priorities For Bank Resolution Rules
The European Union banking watchdog has found banks need to prepare better for the process of orderly failure known as resolution, including by obtaining more accurate data for assessing their financial positions.
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August 14, 2024
FCA Fines, Bans Consultant For Leaving Clients Uninsured
The financial regulator said Wednesday that it has banned an insurance consultant from working in financial services and hit him with a fine of just over £5,000 ($6,430) fine for using funds from clients to pay his business and personal debts.
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August 14, 2024
Cypriot Forex Firm Fined For Exploiting Customers
Britain's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it has hit Cypriot trading firm Forex TB Ltd. with a £276,100 ($355,000) fine for failing to treat customers fairly and providing unauthorized investment advice.
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August 13, 2024
Travelers Defends DWFM Beckman Over Investment Advice
The insurer of now-defunct DWFM Beckman LLP has hit back against claims that the firm negligently advised a real estate investor on an almost £20 million ($25.5 million) deal, denying that the firm advised her on the investment at all.
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August 13, 2024
Probe Unveils €500M Money-Laundering Group, Agency Says
European and Brazilian authorities have searched multiple homes and frozen millions in assets during an operation investigating what is alleged to be an Italian mafia-run money-laundering network worth more than €500 million ($547.8 million), the European Union law enforcement agency Eurojust announced Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
UK Charity Sector Pension Funding Reaches £50B
The charity sector's pension schemes have seen funding reach £50 billion ($63.9 billion) in 2022, potentially leading to more pension buy-outs, according to a report published Tuesday by pensions consultancy Hymans Robertson LLP.
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August 13, 2024
PA Forced To Visit Boss' Home During Lockdown Wins £115K
Two hedge fund bosses must pay a former personal assistant over £115,000 ($147,468) after an employment tribunal found the businessman had asked her to unnecessarily go against COVID-19 restrictions by working from their homes.
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August 13, 2024
Firm Ex-Director Gets 15-Year Sanction For Investment Scam
A former director of an investment firm has had a ban on working as a company executive extended to 2033 after he was convicted of a Ponzi scheme fraud at an English court, the U.K.'s Insolvency Service has said.
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August 13, 2024
JPMorgan Trust Seeks Shareholder Nod For Equity Raise
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income PLC said Tuesday that it is seeking approval from its shareholders to grant the investment trust the authority to issue up to 200 million of its shares in light of strong investor demand.
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August 13, 2024
UK Regulators Mull Digital Reporting Future Outside EU
Britain's accounting watchdog on Tuesday proposed a number of potential reforms for the future of digital reporting in the U.K., amid recent legislative changes after the country's departure from the European Union.
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August 13, 2024
Linklaters-Led Fund Buys Blackstone JV Homes For £405M
Britain's biggest private pension fund said on Tuesday that it has acquired 3,000 shared-ownership homes from a joint venture that is majority-owned by Blackstone Inc. for £405 million ($518 million).
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August 12, 2024
Judge Won't DQ Asst. US Atty In Standard Chartered FCA Case
A New York federal judge on Monday declined to disqualify an assistant United States attorney from a long-dismissed False Claims Act suit against Standard Chartered Bank, calling the whistleblower's arguments for disqualification meritless "to the point where they verge on vexatious and frivolous."
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August 12, 2024
UK To Look Deeper Into Amex GBT's $570M Buy Of CWT
Britain's antitrust regulator said Monday that it has referred American Express Global Business Travel's proposed acquisition of rival CWT for an in-depth second phase of investigation over concerns the approximately $570 million deal could hurt competition in the country.
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August 12, 2024
FRC Sees Too Many Cos. Using 'Boilerplate' Wates Filings
The Financial Reporting Council said Monday that 30% of large private firms favor the Wates corporate governance principles for filing company reports, but many companies still need to improve their disclosures.
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August 12, 2024
Westfield Sues Clearpay Over Brand Deal Breach
Shopping giant Westfield has sued Clearpay Finance Ltd. for more than £665,000 ($848,722), claiming the payment processing provider wrongly terminated two "buy now, pay later" partnerships with its London shopping centers.
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August 12, 2024
EU Watchdog Warned Of Crypto Risk For Retail Funds
Fund managers warned the European Union markets regulator Monday that there is no consensus on how to value crypto-assets, in a consultation on whether such products should be accessible to retail funds.
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August 12, 2024
UK Pensions Body Calls For Reform For Investment Plan
The government should consider introducing planning reform and tax incentives to encourage pensions providers to invest more in U.K. assets, a trade body said on Monday, as the new administration considers how to tap into the sector to fuel a national economic recovery.
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August 12, 2024
LCP Launches Tool To Check Gov't Pension Payment Errors
Consultancy Lane Clark & Peacock LLP has launched an online tool designed to help retirement savers check what state pension they can get amid "worrying evidence" that some widows and widowers are not receiving their full entitlement.
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August 09, 2024
Ex-Mozambique Finance Minister Convicted For $2B Scheme
Mozambique's former finance minister was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges in connection with his role in the $2 billion "tuna bonds" scandal, prosecutors announced.
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August 09, 2024
Kuwaiti Investment Arm Immune From Ex-CEO's Claim
The Kuwait Investment Authority has succeeded in getting a whistleblowing claim from its former chief executive thrown out of a London tribunal after a judge ruled that he was employed as a diplomat, and therefore the authority has sovereign immunity against his claim.
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August 09, 2024
Pension Protection Fund Marks Progress On Climate Goals
The U.K. Pension Protection Fund has said it is making good progress on its climate ambitions but needs to "keep pushing" for better quality climate data across its portfolio.
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August 09, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen China Evergrande Group file a commercial fraud claim against its founder's ex-wife, legal action by Manolete Partners against the directors of an insolvent construction company, VietJet tackle a claim by French banking group Natixis and more developments in the "Dieselgate" scandal. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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August 09, 2024
Plane Stuck In Russia 'Not Lost,' Reinsurers Argue
A batch of reinsurers has denied they must pay out in a row over $44 million to cover the alleged loss of a plane leased to a Russian airline, arguing the plane is not lost and would not be covered by the policy.
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August 09, 2024
UK Tightens Disclosure Rules For Greensill-Type Finance
The U.K.'s accounting watchdog on Friday set out amendments to reporting exemptions from international accounting standards available to subsidiaries of groups, including around disclosure of supplier finance arrangements, as used by collapsed Greensill Capital.
Expert Analysis
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What COVID Payout Ruling Means For Lockdown Loss Claims
While the High Court's recent COVID-19 payout decision in Gatwick v. Liberty Mutual, holding that pandemic-related regulations trigger prevention of access clauses, will likely lead to insurers accepting more business interruption claims, there are still evidentiary challenges and issues regarding policy limits and furlough, say Josianne El Antoury and Greg Lascelles at Covington.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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EEA Equivalence Statement Is Welcomed By Fund Managers
The recent statement confirming European Economic Area equivalence to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities for U.K. overseas funds regime purposes removes many managers’ concerns in the wake of Brexit, giving a clear pathway out of temporary marketing permissions and easing the transition from one regime to another, says Catherine Weeks at Simmons & Simmons.
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In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law
A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.
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Crypto As A Coin Of The Corporate Realm: The Pros And Cons
The broadened range of crypto-assets opens up new possibilities for employers looking to recruit, incentivize and retain employees through the use of crypto, but certain risks must be addressed, say Dan Sharman and Sunny Mangatt at Shoosmiths.
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Comparing UK And EU's View On 3rd-Party Service Providers
The U.K. is taking welcome steps to address the lack of direct oversight over critical third-party service providers, and although less onerous than that of the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act, the U.K. regime's proportionate approach is designed to make providers more robust and reliable, say lawyers at Shearman.
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Key Points Of BoE Response To Digital Pound Consultation
Lawyers at Hogan Lovells analyze the recent Bank of England and U.K. government response to a consultation on the launch of a digital pound, finding that the phased approach to evaluating the issues makes sense given the significant potential impact on the U.K. economy.
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Goldman Prosecution Delivers A Clear Sign Of FCA Strength
The recent successful prosecution of a former Goldman Sachs analyst for insider dealing and fraud is a reminder to regulated individuals that economic crime will never be tolerated, and that the Financial Conduct Authority is willing to bare its teeth in the exercise of its prosecutorial remit, says Doug Cherry at Fladgate.
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The Good, The Bad And The New Of The UK Sanctions Regime
Almost six years after the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act was introduced, the U.K. government has published a strategy paper that outlines its focus points and unveils potential changes to the regime, such as a new humanitarian exception for financial sanctions, highlighting the rapid transformation of the U.K. sanctions landscape, says Josef Rybacki at WilmerHale.
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A Look At Environment Agency's New Economic Crime Unit
Sophie Wood at Kingsley Napley explains how the Environment Agency’s newly established Economic Crime Unit will pursue criminal money flows from environmental offenses, and discusses the unit’s civil powers, including the ability to administer account freezing and forfeiture orders, says Sophie Wood at Kingsley Napley.
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Opinion
UK Whistleblowers Flock To The US For Good Reason
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office director recently brought renewed attention to the differences between the U.K. and U.S. whistleblower regimes — differences that may make reporting to U.S. agencies a better and safer option for U.K. whistleblowers, and show why U.K. whistleblower laws need to be improved, say Benjamin Calitri and Kate Reeves at Kohn Kohn.
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4 Legal Privilege Lessons From Dechert Disclosure Ruling
The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, finding that evidence may have been incorrectly withheld, provides welcome clarification of the scope of legal professional privilege, including the application of the iniquity exception, says Tim Knight at Travers Smith.
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BT Case May Shape UK Class Action Landscape
The first opt-out collective action trial commenced in Le Patourel v. BT in the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal last month, regarding BT's abuse of dominance by overcharging millions of customers, will likely provide clarification on damages and funder returns in collective actions, which could significantly affect the class action regime, say lawyers at RPC.
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Key Points From EC Economic Security Screening Initiatives
Lawyers at Herbert Smith analyze the European Commission's five recently announced initiatives aimed at de-risking the EU's trade and investment links with third countries, including the implementation of mandatory screening mechanisms and extending coverage to investments made by EU companies that are controlled subsidiaries of non-EU investors.
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Following The Road Map Toward Quantum Security
With the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent publication of a white paper on a quantum-secure financial sector, firms should begin to consider the quantum transition early — before the process is driven by regulatory obligations — with the goal of developing a cybersecurity architecture that is agile while also allowing for quantum security, say lawyers at Cleary.