Financial Services UK

  • September 13, 2024

    HMRC Seeks Comments On Top-Up Tax Guidance

    HM Revenue & Customs is seeking comments on new draft guidance on the multinational top-up tax as part of implementing the global minimum corporate tax rate.

  • September 13, 2024

    High Court Sanctions £2.2B Deal For Network International

    Middle Eastern payments company Network International Holdings said on Friday that the High Court has sanctioned a £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) takeover bid from Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.

  • September 13, 2024

    EU Finance Ministers Boycott Hungary Meeting Over Russia

    Most European Union finance ministers protested on Friday against what they see as Hungary's Russia-friendly politics by boycotting a meeting with their EU peers in the country's capital, Budapest.

  • September 13, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen a football agent sue Chelsea FC after being cleared of allegations he threatened the club’s former director, an ongoing patent dispute between Amgen and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and a private school in Edinburgh suing Riverstone Insurance over compensation claims tied to historical abuse allegations made by former pupils. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • September 13, 2024

    Freeths Hires McNulty As Pensions Director In London

    Freeths LLP has appointed Sean McNulty, a former legal director at Blake Morgan as a pensions director in its London office, a move it believes will bolster its retirement income business.

  • September 13, 2024

    UK Pensions Lifeboat Sets £100M Levy Amid Calls For Change

    Britain's pensions protection body has said that it is likely to maintain its £100 million ($131 million) levy on the sector for the next financial year, as analysts call for legislative change that would allow the redress program to lower it further.

  • September 13, 2024

    Shell Companies Shuttered By Court For £1.6M COVID Fraud

    The High Court has shut down two connected companies that fraudulently received £1.6 million ($2.1 million) in COVID-19 support loans, a U.K. government agency said Friday.

  • September 13, 2024

    UK Consumer Credit Firms Face New Reporting Requirements

    The Financial Conduct Authority has proposed issuing a new reporting obligation for consumer credit firms as it seeks to prevent harm to consumers earlier and avoid another scandal such as the collapse of London Capital & Finance.

  • September 13, 2024

    Retraining Offer No Reason For NCA Investigator To Quit

    A National Crime Agency investigator who quit his job a day after he was offered the opportunity to regain his official accreditation has lost his claim that he was forced to resign.

  • September 12, 2024

    Employment Firm GQ Littler Hires Pro From Baker McKenzie

    GQ Littler has hired a long-serving employment lawyer at Baker McKenzie to its office in London to represent U.K. and international clients, particularly in the financial services, technology and media sectors.

  • September 12, 2024

    Pensions Watchdog To Focus More On Investment Strategies

    Britain's retirement savings watchdog has said it will be "stepping up" its focus on investment strategies to try to ensure pension schemes deliver the best possible results for savers.

  • September 12, 2024

    BNP Paribas Attempts To Prune London Banker's Claim

    BNP Paribas attempted to trim a manager's claim at a London employment tribunal on Thursday, arguing that the employee had taken a "kitchen sink approach" by adding excessive legal claims onto some of her allegations.

  • September 12, 2024

    UK Gov't Warned Over Pension Tax Changes In Budget

    A trade body for actuaries said on Thursday that the government should consult widely and take time to implement any reform to pension taxation as it joins a growing number of organizations urging caution over potential tax changes ahead of the upcoming Budget.

  • September 12, 2024

    Crypto-Scam Victim Can't Trace Lost £2M To Thai Exchange

    A judge at a London court ruled Thursday that a victim of crypto-fraud had failed to trace the stolen money to an exchange in Thailand, the first ruling to deal with the status and treatment of cryptocurrency in English law after a full trial.

  • September 12, 2024

    UK Watchdog Waters Down New Capital Rules For Banks

    The Prudential Regulation Authority published Thursday the second part of its rules on capital requirements for banks and has delayed their implementation by six months to the beginning of 2026.

  • September 12, 2024

    Austrian Bank Can't Recover Licence Axed Over AML Controls

    The European Union's highest court upheld on Thursday a decision by the bloc's central bank to strip an Austrian lender of its license over alleged anti-money laundering failures and regulatory breaches.

  • September 11, 2024

    Lloyd's Sued For $3.7M Over Cargo Ship Damaged In Ukraine

    An investment and wealth advisory business has sued Lloyd's of London's Belgian unit for over $3.7 million to cover its alleged losses after a cargo ship was damaged by a mine strike in Ukraine.

  • September 11, 2024

    EU Court Upholds Sanctions On Russian Clearinghouse

    Russia's securities clearinghouse has lost its appeal challenging sanctions imposed by the European Union in response to the invasion of Ukraine, after a Luxembourg court ruled Wednesday that the decisions were backed up by evidence.

  • September 11, 2024

    Watchdog Warns Small Banks To Improve Lending Controls

    The Bank of England's regulatory arm warned smaller banks and building societies in a letter Tuesday to improve their lending controls and affordability assessments.

  • September 11, 2024

    UK Gov't To Classify Cryptocurrency As Personal Property

    The U.K. government introduced a bill on Wednesday that classifies bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as personal property, a move that will give owners of digital assets certainty and protection under the law if it passes.

  • September 11, 2024

    Solaris Sues Binance For €144M After Debit Card Deal Axed

    Online banking group Solaris has sued Binance in London for €144 million ($159 million) it claims to be owed in guaranteed fees after the cryptocurrency exchange operator terminated an agreement for the provision of debit cards to customers of Binance companies. 

  • September 11, 2024

    Oligarchs Fridman, Aven Fail To Ax Sanctions Reporting Rules

    European Union measures that require oligarchs including Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven to disclose their assets and cooperate in investigations are lawful and "necessary" for maintaining the bloc's sanctions regime, a European court ruled Wednesday, saying the rules were "unprecedented."

  • September 11, 2024

    Ex-PE Boss Denies Owing Fee For €150M Investment In Fund

    A former partner at private equity firm TPG has denied that he owes an asset adviser any fees for securing an alleged €150 million ($165 million) investment in his own fund.

  • September 11, 2024

    UK Pension Funding Surplus Dips £500M After BoE Rate Cut

    The funding surplus of U.K. pension plans fell by £500 million ($653 million), according to official figures, after the Bank of England cut interest rates in August.

  • September 11, 2024

    TV Property Developer Appears In Court On Fraud Charges

    A television property developer appeared at a London criminal court on Wednesday to face charges for the first time that he defrauded a U.S. rental company out of £2 million ($2.6 million).

Expert Analysis

  • What Justices' Cert. Denial Of Terrorism Suit Means For Banks

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in Freeman v. HSBC Holdings lets stand the Second Circuit's decision on the narrow scope of conspiracy liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, providing protection for banks that otherwise could have faced liability for finance activities with limited connections to third parties' unlawful acts, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Firms Should Prepare For New DEI Reporting Requirements

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    While the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority's recent proposals on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector are progressive, implementing reporting requirements will pose data collection and privacy protection challenges for employers, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.

  • What The UK Digital Markets Bill Will Mean For Businesses

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    The new investigatory and enforcement powers conferred by the U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill mean that although businesses may be aware of their market status due to existing EU law, they should ensure they are mindful of the changes to consumer law and the implications for digital markets, says Richard Hugo at Burges Salmon.

  • 5 Takeaways From ICO's Biometric Recognition Guidance

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    Recent guidance from the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is a helpful reminder of key data protection principles and obligations stemming from the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation that organizations should consider when implementing biometric recognition technology, say lawyers at Dechert.

  • Shifting From Technical To Clear Insurance Contract Wordings

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    Recent developments on insurance policies, including the Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty, represent a major shift for insurers and highlight the importance of drafting policies that actively improve understanding, rather than shift the onus onto the end user, say Tamsin Hyland and Jonathan Charwat at RPC.

  • A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT

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    The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.

  • Considerations For Fund Managers Seeking Retail Investment

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    With recent legal developments, including a revised Long Term Investment Funds Regulation effective in 2024, supporting the market trend of retailization, there are several practical considerations for alternative fund managers embarking on a European fundraise for retail capital, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Kate Downey at Fried Frank.

  • FDI Considerations For UK Venture Capital Transactions

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    With the U.K. National Security and Investment Act highlighting foreign direct investment matters for venture capital transactions, investors dealing with companies connected to the U.K. should be alive to how the act's requirements can affect deal timelines, structures and terms, say lawyers at Covington.

  • How Employers Can Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace

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    A recent run of cases emphasize employers' duties to make reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse employees under the Equalities Act, illustrating the importance of investing in staff education and listening to neurodivergent workers to improve recruitment, retention and productivity in the workplace, say Anna Henderson and Tim Leaver at Herbert Smith.

  • What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU

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    Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.

  • Why FCA Crypto Rules Need To Align With UK Gov't Aims

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    There is a critical need for cryptocurrency regulations that protect consumers while supporting the government's aim to make the U.K. a crypto hub, but the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently effective rules on financial promotion of crypto-assets bring an unintended risk that legitimate firms will be driven out of the market, says Laura Navarathnam at the Crypto Council for Innovation.

  • CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control

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    The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • UK Mozambique Ruling Will Have Int'l Ramifications

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    The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Mozambique v. Privinvest considered for the first time stay proceedings under the Arbitration Act, offering guidance on whether claims are a "matter" within the scope of an arbitration clause, which could become a point of reference for foreign courts in the future, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.

  • Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism

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    New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • Audit Regulator Review Has Tips On Climate Metric Reporting

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    The U.K. Financial Reporting Council’s recent review of climate-related metrics and targets in listed companies’ annual reports is an extremely useful guide for issuers considering the quality of their disclosure reporting, with a number of key areas identified as central to further improvement, say lawyers at Bryan Cave.

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