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Financial Services UK
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July 31, 2024
Aussie Bank ANZ Acquires Suncorp Unit For $3.2B
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said Wednesday that it has acquired Suncorp Bank for approximately 4.9 billion Australian dollars ($3.2 billion), two years after it signed the deal.
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July 31, 2024
Pension Plans Do Minimum ESG Compliance, Watchdog Says
Too many retirement savings plans attain only minimum compliance with environmental, social and governance standards, The Pensions Regulator has said, and urged them to improve their approach.
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July 31, 2024
HSBC Unveils $3B Buyback As Profits Remain Stable
Banking heavyweight HSBC said Wednesday that it will line shareholders' pockets with as much as $3 billion after reporting stable profits for the first half of the year in outgoing chief executive Noel Quinn's final earnings report.
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July 30, 2024
Consumers Can Appeal Some Blocked UK Mastercard Claims
The United Kingdom's specialty antitrust court gave the go-ahead Tuesday for a partial appeal of its June decision scrubbing as time-barred a swath of claims from a £10 billion ($12.7 billion) class action against Mastercard, while concluding some grounds of appeal have no "real prospect of success."
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July 30, 2024
UK Healthcare Ex-Directors Banned For £30M In Unpaid Taxes
Two former directors of a defunct U.K. healthcare company are banned from holding executive positions at any business after failing to pay more than £30 million ($38.5 million) in taxes, the government's insolvency agency said Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
WFW Partner Moves To Dubai To Join Ship Finance Offering
Assets and structured finance partner Emily Widdrington of Watson Farley & Williams LLP is relocating to Dubai from London.
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July 30, 2024
NCA Ducks Litigation Risk In 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Assets
The decision by the National Crime Agency to secure the forfeiture of the assets of a sanctioned Russian oligarch is a pragmatic victory that avoids the risk of setting a damaging legal precedent, lawyers say.
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July 30, 2024
Regulator Highlights Quality Gaps Among Top Auditors
The Financial Reporting Council said Tuesday that there is a widening gap between BDO LLP and Forvis Mazars LLP and the better performance of the Big Four accounting firms for high-quality audits of major U.K. companies.
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July 30, 2024
Pension Tax Reform Could Unlock £100B For UK Growth
Changing how pensions are taxed in the U.K. could potentially unlock more than £100 billion ($128 billion) for domestic investment over the next five years, according to a recent analysis by a pensions consultancy.
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July 30, 2024
Bank Of England Plans New Scrutiny Of Foreign Banks In UK
The Bank of England's regulatory arm proposed Tuesday new requirements for overseas banks with U.K. operations, to help detect some risks to financial stability that had arisen in the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank UK, sold to HSBC.
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July 30, 2024
Pensioner Welfare Cuts Create 'Cliff Edge,' LCP Says
The Labour government's decision to cut annual winter fuel payments worth up to £300 ($385) for retirees not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will create an unwelcome "cliff edge" for savers, a consultancy has said.
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July 30, 2024
StanChart Launches Record $1.5B Share Buyback Program
Standard Chartered PLC unveiled plans on Tuesday to reward investors with its biggest-ever share buyback program worth $1.5 billion as it reported a 20% surge in profits to nearly $4 billion.
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July 30, 2024
FCA Could Extend Deadline On Motor Finance Complaints
Britain's financial watchdog is considering whether to extend the deadline for motor finance companies to deal with complaints from customers about commission arrangements while the regulator investigates whether past deals were compliant with a 2021 ban.
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July 30, 2024
Pension Firms Meeting Equity Investment Goals, Insurers Say
Pension firms that signed up to an agreement to allocate a minimum of 5% of defined contribution funds to unlisted equities by 2030 have laid "strong foundations" in line with the target, British insurers said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
UK Crypto Biz To Raise £6.5M Via Private Share Placing
Argo Blockchain PLC said on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell shares worth approximately £6.5 million ($8.4 million) to an institutional investor, which the cryptocurrency miner will use to finance general working capital and pay back debt.
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July 29, 2024
Crypto Investors Get Provisional OK For £9B Binance Claim
Binance Holdings Ltd. must face a £9 billion ($11.5 billion) proposed class action brought by investors after a tribunal dismissed the cryptocurrency exchange's bid to strike out the claim, finding the evidence "just about" shows the case has a realistic chance of success.
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July 29, 2024
Gov't Consults On Tax Hikes For Fund Managers, Non-Doms
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Monday that an autumn Budget planned for Oct. 30 will include feature selected tax rises, a warning accompanied by strong hints from HM Treasury that fund managers and non-domicile taxpayers could take a bigger hit.
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July 29, 2024
NFT Game Collaborator Says She Was IP Co-Owner
A cryptocurrency expert has said that her former business partner has improperly accused her of stealing confidential business information for an NFT-winning game they co-developed, despite having proof that she had not shared anything with his competitors.
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July 29, 2024
Marketer Told She Had Baby 'At The Wrong Time' Wants £30K
A marketer for an international accountancy accreditation body asked a tribunal on Monday to order her employer to pay her £30,000 ($38,500) for injury to her feelings after her boss told her that she "had a baby at the wrong time."
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August 05, 2024
Morgan Lewis Adds Investment Pro From Paul Hastings
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has hired a seasoned expert in private equity secondary markets as a partner in London, as the firm moves to consolidate its presence as a major player in the sector.
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July 29, 2024
New Defined Benefit Funding Code Laid Before Parliament
Britain's pensions watchdog on Monday said its long-awaited funding code for defined benefit retirement savings plans has been laid before Parliament, marking what it called a "significant step."
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July 29, 2024
Top Corporate Crime Cases To Watch For The Rest Of 2024
The Serious Fraud Office's intention to charge individuals with bribery over Glencore's dealings in Nigeria, a major bitcoin money laundering trial and the ongoing legal battles between ENRC and the SFO are some of the major white-collar crime cases on the horizon.
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July 29, 2024
Zurich Invests $60M In Cyber Insurance Provider For SMEs
Swiss insurance giant Zurich has invested $60 million in Cowbell, a provider of cyberinsurance for small businesses, the digital risk company said, amid growing industry concerns over cyberthreats.
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July 29, 2024
FCA Weighs Taking Protection From Some Insurance Clients
The Financial Conduct Authority proposed on Monday a change to the criteria of classifying a small business as a commercial insurance client by removing consumer protection rules from some firms when they buy insurance products.
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July 29, 2024
NCA Seizes Assets As Russian Oligarch Ends Sanctions Fight
The National Crime Agency seized more than £768,000 ($986,000) belonging to Russian oligarch Petr Aven on Monday after reaching a settlement in its first attempt to recover frozen assets linked to suspected sanctions evasion since sweeping restrictions came into force.
Expert Analysis
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3 Financial Services Hot Topics To Watch In 2024
Technology, ESG and private markets are set to have the greatest impact on financial markets in 2024, as firms grapple with increasing regulatory change and a shifting political backdrop on both sides of the Atlantic, says Matthew Allen at Eversheds Sutherland.
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What Venice Swaps Ruling Says About Foreign Law Disputes
The English appeals court's decision in Banca Intesa v. Venice that the English law swaps are valid and enforceable will be welcomed by banks, and it provides valuable commentary on the English courts' approach toward the interpretation of foreign law, say Harriet Campbell and Richard Marshall at Penningtons Manches.
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Key Litigation Funding Rulings Will Drive Reform In 2024
Ground-breaking judgments on disputes funding and fee arrangements from 2023 — including that litigation funding agreements could be damages-based agreements, rendering them unenforceable — will bring legislative changes in 2024, which could have a substantial impact on litigation risk for several sectors, say Verity Jackson-Grant and David Bridge at Simmons & Simmons.
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How Draft Trading Regs Provide Framework For UK Regime
Representing an important part of the U.K. government's post-Brexit regulatory reform agenda, the most recent draft of the proposed Trading Regulations seeks to provide a framework for a new rules-based regime for regulating public offers of securities and admissions to trading on a U.K.-regulated market, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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Breaking Down The New Rules For High Net Worth Individuals
Andrew Northage at Walker Morris outlines what businesses need to be aware of to ensure ongoing compliance with revised conditions in the U.K. government's updated financial promotion exemptions for high net worth individuals and sophisticated investors, and suggests a few practical tips for businesses to follow.
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How Data Privacy Law Cases Are Evolving In UK, EU And US
To see where the law is heading in 2024, it is worth looking at privacy litigation and enforcement trends from last year, where we saw a focus on General Data Protection Regulation regulatory enforcement actions in the U.K. and EU, and class actions brought by private plaintiffs in the U.S., say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
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Misleading Airline Ads Offer Lessons To Avoid Greenwashing
Following the Advertising Standards Authority's recent decision that three airlines' adverts misled customers about their environmental impact, companies should ensure that their green claims comply with legal standards to avoid risking reputational damage, which could have financial repercussions, say Elaina Bailes and Olivia Shaw at Stewarts.
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An Overview Of UK Short Selling Regulation Reforms
The steps taken by the U.K. government to reform the short selling regime show a thoughtful and considered approach and a willingness to listen to industry feedback in adapting the legacy EU regime to the realities of the U.K. markets, say Anna Maleva-Otto and Matthew Dow at Schulte Roth.
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Supreme Court Ruling Is A Gift To Insolvency Practitioners
As corporate criminal liability is in sharp focus, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Palmer v. Northern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court that administrators are not company officers and should not be held liable under U.K. labor law is instructive in focusing on the substance and not merely the title of a person's role within a company, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
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What Can Be Learned From Adobe-Figma Merger Termination
The Competition and Markets Authority’s role in the recent termination of the proposed Adobe-Figma merger deal indicates the regulator's intention to be seen as a strong enforcer in the technology sphere, and serves as a warning for companies to address antitrust risks early on in the merger process, say Deirdre Taylor and Molly Heslop at Gibson Dunn.
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How FCA Listing Regime Reform Proposals Are Developing
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently proposed U.K. equity listings reforms maintain increased flexibility with a disclosure-based approach, but much of the new regime’s success will depend on the eligibility criteria used and whether additional governance will be required for inclusion, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Major EU AI Banking Ruling Will Reverberate Across Sectors
Following the European Court of Justice's recent OQ v. Land Hessen decision that banks' use of AI-driven credit scores to make consumer decisions did not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, regulators indicated that the ruling would apply broadly, leaving numerous industries that employ AI-powered decisions open to scrutiny, say lawyers at Alston & Bird.
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Key Points From Ireland's New Accountability Framework
The recently introduced Individual Accountability Framework is a positive step for the financial services industry in Ireland, and in contributing to cultural and practical change will encourage positive behavior and good governance for the benefit of the industry and investors, say Aongus McCarthy and Niall Esler at Walkers Global.
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Technology And AI: 2024's Legal And Regulatory Landscape
Alexander Amato-Cravero at Herbert Smith discusses what businesses and their lawyers can expect in the year ahead in terms of regulation, policies and associated risks related to advancing technologies and artificial intelligence, including the need for increased internal governance and workforce engagement.
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US And UK Law Firms Continue Trend Of EU Expansion
A broad spectrum of U.S. and U.K. law firms are now seeking fresh opportunities in Europe's fastest growing and constantly evolving sectors by opening offices in strategic locations across the continent, says James Lavan at Buchanan Law.