Financial Services UK

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Experts See Risks In FCA's Soft-Touch Response To AI

The Financial Conduct Authority has so far failed to detail its rules on artificial intelligence and is moving toward a reliance on companies to self-report, putting it at risk of deferring excessively to the sector it regulates, legal experts say.
December 03, 2024
Consumers Settle £10B Mastercard Swipe Fees Class Action

Representatives of more than 45 million U.K. consumers confirmed Tuesday that they had settled a multibillion-pound claim against Mastercard over its fees, which is likely to end one of the first cases to test the boundaries of Britain's collective proceedings regime.
December 03, 2024
Clifford Chance Hires Finance Pros From Goodwin In Paris

Clifford Chance LLP announced on Tuesday that it has boosted its finance offering in Paris with the hire of two specialists from Goodwin Procter LLP.
December 03, 2024
Retailers Argue For Higher Damages Bill In Swipe Fees Trial

Retailers suing Mastercard and Visa argued before the Court of Appeal on Tuesday that their damages bill from alleged unlawful overcharging by the card companies should incorporate continuing losses because the anticompetitive conduct has not yet stopped.
December 03, 2024
UK Watchdog Probes BlackRock Deal For Data Co. Preqin

The U.K.'s competition regulator said on Tuesday it is delving into whether private equity giant BlackRock Inc.'s proposed £2.55 billion ($3.2 billion) acquisition of private markets data provider Preqin would harm competition in U.K. markets.
December 03, 2024
City Firms Are Unprepared For GenAI Rollouts

U.K. financial firms are struggling to keep pace with the adoption of generative artificial intelligence due to gaps in workforce training and regulatory readiness, according to EY's second survey on the technology in financial services.
December 03, 2024
Pension-Age Mortgages Now An 'Entrenched' Market Feature

The number of new mortgages that extend into borrowers' retirement has grown, with 40% of loans issued in the second quarter of 2024 set to run beyond pension age, according to recent data from the Bank of England.
December 03, 2024
Severity Of Cyber-Risk 'Widely Underestimated' In UK

Britain is facing a "widening gap" in its ability to fight cyberthreats and must improve its defenses to combat the increasing severity and scale of hostile threats, the head of the country's top cybersecurity agency said on Tuesday.
December 02, 2024
PE Firms Swap Calisen Stake At Reported $5B Value

A majority stake in Calisen Group is changing hands in a private equity-backed deal that is said to value the British smart metering company at more than $5 billion, according to disclosures made Monday.
December 02, 2024
Skat Settles With Ex-Barclays Director In £1.4B Fraud Case

The Danish tax authority has settled its claim against a former Barclays Capital director and four companies that it sued alongside dozens of others over an alleged scheme to defraud it of £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) in tax revenue.
December 02, 2024
Mogul Can't Duck £102M Debt Using Sham Settlement

Property mogul Andrew Ruhan colluded with a British businessman convicted for fraud to cook up sham litigation to escape a £102 million ($129 million) debt owed to the liquidators of three luxury hotels, a London judge has ruled.
December 02, 2024
BoE Finds Pension Funds Resilient After LDI Crisis

The Bank of England has said that the pensions sector has significantly improved its financial and operational resilience since the crisis that hit liability-driven investment funds two years ago.
December 02, 2024
DLA Piper Taps Senior Finance Pro As New Leeds Chief

DLA Piper said on Monday that it has appointed a senior finance lawyer as the managing partner for its office in Leeds as it prepares to relocate to a new £85 million ($108 million) office development in the northern English city.
December 02, 2024
Eversheds Aids Canada Life On £250M Pension Deal For Kion

German industrial supplier Kion Group AG has offloaded £250 million ($316 million) of its U.K. pension liabilities to Canada Life, the insurer said Monday, in a deal steered by Pinsent Masons LLP and Eversheds Sutherland.
December 02, 2024
Compensation Fund Open To Claims On Failed SIPP

Customers of a self-invested personal pension operator can now file compensation claims through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme following the company's administration and liquidation earlier this year.
December 02, 2024
FCA Urges Better AML Regulation Of Conveyancing

The supervisory body for watchdogs in the legal and accountancy sectors has told them that they must take further steps to prevent money laundering in the transfer of ownership in U.K. property transactions.
November 29, 2024
US Firm Gathers Support For £351M Bid For Loungers

U.S. investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC said Friday that its takeover bid of approximately £350.50 million ($447 million) for British hospitality chain Loungers has won support from another shareholder.
November 29, 2024
Greensill Rejects Gov't's 'Immaterial' Defense To Leaked Probe

Lex Greensill has said a claim by the Department for Business and Trade that leaking private details of an investigation into him had not damaged his reputation is "immaterial" to his data and privacy claim against the government.
November 29, 2024
Lombard Odier Indicted In Switzerland For Money Laundering

Swiss prosecutors said on Friday that they have indicted Lombard Odier and one of its former employees for "aggravated money laundering" — a rare move against one of the country's largest wealth managers.
November 29, 2024
UK Pension Funds Back Gov't Mansion House Reforms

The largest pension providers in Britain threw their weight Friday behind the government's measures to develop Canadian-style megafunds in the U.K. to achieve better results for savers through economies of scale.
November 29, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the National Crime Agency file a civil recovery order against a Chinese couple suspected of £29 billion ($37 billion) banking fraud, Norwich City FC of the second tier of English football hit two drinks companies with IP claims, and Owen Jones of the Guardian newspaper sue Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson for libel.
November 29, 2024
Audit Watchdog Urges EU To Curb Harmful Tax Practices

The European Union is still not doing enough to stop harmful corporate tax practices that are costing governments more than €100 billion ($105 billion) a year in revenue, the bloc's independent audit watchdog has warned.
November 29, 2024
Apollo Accused Of Confidential Info Misuse In Wagamama Bid

Apollo Global Management is facing allegations in a London court that it misused an investment company's confidential information to mount an acquisition in 2023 of The Restaurant Group, the owner of Wagamama Asian food restaurants.
November 29, 2024
Fund Vehicle Sells $173M Shares In UK Investment Platform

A vehicle controlled by investment firms Centerbridge and Gallatin has said it has sold its final stake in Phoenix Financial Ltd., a financial services and investment firm for consumers in the U.K., raising approximately $173 million.
November 28, 2024
Barclays Fights 'Shareholder Rule' In Privilege Dispute

Investors sought to prevent Barclays PLC asserting legal privilege over documents requested for disclosure in securities fraud litigation at a court hearing Thursday, after a judge ruled in a separate case that a "shareholder rule" exception to legal privilege did not exist.
November 28, 2024
Vacation Co. Denies Avoiding Wyndham Hotels' TM Royalties

A vacation group has denied that it is avoiding paying hotel chain operator Wyndham at least approximately $6.5 million a year in royalties and administration fees, claiming Wyndham knew that the group had no interest in using its trademarks.

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

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.
Examining UK And EU Approaches To Sanctions Enforcement

In light of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent £28.9 million fine of Starling Bank for its lax sanctions screening processes, businesses should understand both the U.K.’s and the European Union’s enforcement approaches, the larger sanctions landscape and the importance of cooperation, says Angelika Hellweger at Rahman Ravelli.
Factors Driving EU Competition Policy For The Next 5 Years

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez’s recent nomination as the new European Union commissioner for competition prompts questions about policy and enforcement, with goals to enhance competition in business, implement stronger and faster enforcement, and promote and fund decarbonization likely in her sights during a five-year term, say lawyers at Linklaters.
What UK Procurement Act Delay Will Mean For Stakeholders

The Procurement Act 2023’s delay until February 2025 has sparked debate among contracting authorities and suppliers, and the Labour Party’s preference for a broader reform package demonstrates the challenges involved in implementing legislative changes where there is a change in government, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
How Energy Scheme Is Affecting Large Co. Fund Investment

The latest phase of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme implicates funds with investments in large companies by establishing significant and complex changes to the reporting cycle for mandatory assessments, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
How Companies House Enforcement Powers Are Growing

Companies House's recently increased ability to assess what material is submitted to the U.K. register of companies, and to proportionately enforce where violations have occurred, may require some degree of cultural shift within many companies, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
How New Sanctions Office Will Affect UK Trade Landscape

The recent launch of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will help to create a more comprehensive civil enforcement terrain, but the potential for multiple investigations means businesses should reassess their systems to ensure they do not inadvertently incur civil liability, says Julia Pearce at Robertson Pugh.
FCA Savings Update Focuses On Good Customer Outcomes

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent cash savings update emphasizes its expectations of firms to deliver fair value to consumers by documenting the rationale for actions at each stage, considering customer communications and demonstrating that potential harms are acted upon, say Matt Handfield, Charlotte Rendle and Caroline Hunter-Yeats at Simmons & Simmons.
5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment in UniCredit Bank v. RusChemAlliance, upholding an injunction against a lawsuit that attempted to shift arbitration away from a contractually designated venue, provides helpful guidance on when such injunctions may be available, say attorneys at Fladgate.
FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed changes to payments firms’ safeguarding requirements, with enhanced recordkeeping and fund segregation, seek to bolster existing regulatory provisions, but by introducing a statutory trust concept to cover customers’ assets, represent a set of onerous rules, says Matt Hancock at Greenberg Traurig.