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Snap July 4 Election Leaves Pension Reform In Disarray

The government's decision to call a snap general election for July 4 has left the U.K.'s pension sector in limbo, experts say, with uncertainty over whether the next administration will continue with an ambitious reform program.
November 29, 2024
Pension Credit Applications Soar After Winter Payment Cut

Applications for pension credit have soared in the U.K. since the government announced in July that it would be axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners, statistics have shown.
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
Pension Trustees To Repay £5.2M For Investment Breaches

A group of pension scheme trustees must repay more than £5.2 million ($6.6 million) into three retirement savings plans after the sector's ombudsman found they had breached their duties and acted dishonestly with a number of dubious investments.
November 29, 2024
Over 110,000 Former UK Miners Get 32% Pensions Boost

More than 110,000 former mine workers across the U.K. got an initial bump to their pensions on Friday after a decision by the Labour government to reverse "a historic wrong" by transferring £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) to their retirement savings plan.
November 28, 2024
UK Faces Retirement Savings 'Crisis,' BlackRock Says

Approximately three quarters of British savers with a defined contribution retirement savings plan feel they are not on track to achieve a reasonable standard of living in retirement, according to research published Thursday by the asset management giant BlackRock.
November 28, 2024
TPR To Become 'Prudential' Regulator After Gov't Reforms

The retirement savings watchdog has said that its role as a regulator will change as pension schemes become consolidated into much larger megafunds and effectively become too big to fail.
November 28, 2024
AXA Loses Time Limits Appeal In HMRC Foreign Tax Claim

Insurer AXA has lost its fight over time limits for bringing claims for restitution against the British tax authority over taxes collected in violation of European Union law, as a London appeals court ruled that the limits could not be extended.
November 28, 2024
EU Insurance Watchdog Mulls Natural Disaster Insurance Tool

The European insurance and pensions watchdog launched a consultation Thursday on a proposed digital risk and prevention awareness tool to help homeowners understand their exposure to natural hazards caused by climate change.
November 28, 2024
Slaughter And May-Led Direct Line Rejects £3.3B Aviva Bid

Direct Line has rebuffed rival Aviva's £3.3 billion ($4.2 billion) takeover offer, saying that it considers the "highly opportunistic" approach "substantially undervalued" the U.K. insurance company, which this year returned to profitability.
November 28, 2024
FCA Reworks Plans To Name Firms Under Investigation

The Financial Conduct Authority issued "significant" revisions to controversial proposals for publicizing investigations of wrongdoing on Thursday, including a move to give businesses more time to make justifications to the watchdog before being named.
November 27, 2024
FCA Strengthens Whistleblowing Policy After Staff Complaints

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it has updated its internal whistleblowing policy in the wake of complaints from employees that it has failed to properly act on intelligence provided by informers.
November 27, 2024
Aviva, NatWest Pen 5-Year Deal For Protection Insurance

Aviva PLC said Wednesday that it has entered into a five-year agreement with NatWest Group PLC for the distribution of the British insurer's protection products through the high-street banking brands from autumn 2025.
November 27, 2024
Lloyd's Insurer Denies £6M Business Interruption Claim

A Lloyd's of London insurer has argued that the owner of a property in Greater Manchester cannot claim £5.9 million ($7.5 million) in business interruption cover for damage caused by a burst water pipe because no business was in fact interrupted.
November 27, 2024
Zurich Launches Digital Tool To Track Climate Risks

The commercial risk advisory unit of Zurich Insurance Group on Wednesday launched a digital tool to provide data aimed at helping businesses and public organizations track and manage climate risk.
November 27, 2024
Banco BPM Rejects UniCredit's €10B Takeover Offer

Italian lender Banco BPM SpA has rebuffed a €10 billion ($10.5 billion) offer from its domestic rival UniCredit SpA, a move that would create the country's biggest bank, stating that the bid fails to reflect its profitability and prospects.
November 26, 2024
New Orleans Property Owner Revives Bid To Nix Arbitration

A New Orleans property owner has again urged a Louisiana federal judge to overturn his order forcing it to arbitrate a $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claim with 11 insurers for a block of luxury apartments and retail shops, pointing to a recent ruling by the state's top court.
November 26, 2024
'Incompetent' FCA Needs Gov't-Led Radical Reform, MPs Say

The Financial Conduct Authority is not fit for purpose and requires government intervention for an extensive overhaul to address its "significant shortcomings" if it is to be an effective regulator, a group of cross-party MPs said in a report published Tuesday.
November 26, 2024
Neon Guides £43M Pension Deal For Copper Tubes Maker

U.K.-based copper pipes maker Mueller Europe Ltd. has offloaded £43 million ($54 million) of pension liabilities to insurer Just Group PLC, an adviser said Tuesday, in a deal guided by British law firm Neon Legal.
November 26, 2024
Withers Settles £249K Fee Dispute Over Daniel Truell Estate

Withers LLP has settled its dispute with pensions industry entrepreneur Edmund Truell and a partner at law firm Moore Barlow LLP over a £249,500 ($313,000) legal bill for representing them as executors of the late financier Daniel Truell's estate.
November 26, 2024
Accredited Insurance Denies £61.4M Liability In Loan Dispute

An insurer has hit back at a £61.4 million ($77.4 million) claim by a legal loans company, arguing a number of regulatory breaches by the lender mean it's not liable to pay out under a litigation funding arrangement.
November 26, 2024
OFSI Boss Promises Tougher Fines For Sanctions Breaches

The head of the U.K. sanctions watchdog told MPs on Tuesday to expect more fines with tougher penalties for breaches of financial restrictions to be imposed on oligarchs in the coming months as he admitted that the crackdown has been slower than hoped.
November 26, 2024
UK Gov't Urged To Rethink Inheritance Tax Plan For Pensions

The government should consider alternatives to its plan to bring pension assets within the scope of inheritance tax, an online investment company has said, warning that the current proposals could create "financial gridlock."
November 26, 2024
UK Audit Watchdog Wants Better Risk Management Reporting

Britain's audit watchdog called on Tuesday for companies to adopt a more strategic approach to corporate reporting that focuses on outcomes, urging businesses to improve their disclosures on risk management before its new governance code takes effect.
November 26, 2024
FCA Plans Regulation As UK Crypto-Asset Ownership Grows

The financial regulator published a plan Tuesday for regulating crypto-assets in the U.K. as it reported a rise in the number of British adults who now own digital currency and assets, up from 10% to 12% — or 7 million people.

Editor's Picks

Top Court Ruling In 'Whiplash' Test Case Could Hit Premiums

Personal injury claimants could get higher payouts from their motor insurance as a result of a test case ruling at Britain's highest court on Tuesday, although analysts warn that insurers could respond with higher premiums to cover the cost of bigger claims.
FCA Begins Crackdown On Poor-Value Insurance Products

The move by the Financial Conduct Authority to restrict sales of guaranteed asset protection insurance is a sign of a faster approach to market intervention, and could lead the regulator to scrutinize other underperforming products, consultants say.
Post-Election UK Pension Changes Could Be In The Fine Print

Regulatory lawyers are not expecting radical overhaul in pension policies if the government changes after this year's general election. But lawyers say that signals in the opposition Labour Party's policy language could hint at possible shifts in investment priorities for retirement savings.

Expert Analysis

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.
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.
Modernizing UK Trade Settlement Standard: The Road Ahead

Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP consider the rationale and challenges of a potential U.K. trade settlement acceleration, part of an initiative to modernize the financial market infrastructure, and suggest that incorporating distributed ledger technology as a synchronized recording system would facilitate the move.
A Look At UK, EU And US Cartel Enforcement Trends

The European Union, U.K. and U.S. competition agencies' recently issued joint statement on competition risks in generative artificial intelligence demonstrates increased cross-border collaboration on cartel investigations, meaning companies facing investigations in one jurisdiction should anticipate related investigations in other jurisdictions, say lawyers at Latham & Watkins.
What Green Claims Directive Proposal Means For Businesses

With the European Union’s recent adoption of a general approach to the proposed Green Claims Directive, which will regulate certain environmental claims and likely be finalized next year, companies keen to publicize their green credentials have even more reason to tread carefully, say Marcus Navin-Jones and Juge Gregg at Crowell & Moring.
EU Reports Signal Greenwashing Focus For Financial Sector

Reports from the European Supervisory Authorities on enforcement of sustainability information, plus related guidance issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority, represent a fundamental change in how businesses must operate to maintain integrity and public trust, say Amilcare Sada and Matteo Fanton at A&O Shearman.
Embedding Consumer Duty: 6 Areas Firms Should Prioritize

The Financial Conduct Authority has repeatedly emphasized that complying with the Consumer Duty is not a tick-box exercise but an ongoing responsibility, so firms need to show that the duty is at the heart of their practices by staying compliant in areas from cultural change to customer vulnerability, say Nicola Higgs and Becky Critchley at Latham.
Insuring Lender's Baseball Bet Leads To Major League Dispute

In RockFence v. Lloyd's, a California federal court seeks to define who qualifies as a professional baseball player for purposes of an insurance coverage payout, providing an illuminating case study of potential legal issues arising from baseball service loans, say Marshall Gilinsky and Seán McCabe at Anderson Kill.
What Steps Businesses Can Take After CrowdStrike Failure

Following last month’s global Microsoft platform outage caused by CrowdStrike’s failed security software update, businesses can expect complex disputes over liability resulting from multilayered agreements and should look to their various insurance policies for cover despite losses not stemming from a cyberattack, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.
What To Expect From Labour's Pension Schemes Bill

The Labour government’s recently announced Pension Schemes Bill, outlining key policy areas affecting the retirement savings sector, represents a positive step forward for both defined contribution scheme members and defined benefit superfunds, but there are some missing features, says Sonya Fraser at Arc Pensions.
What EU Opinion May Mean For ESG Product Classification

The recently issued European Supervisory Authority opinion on the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation offers key recommendations, including revising the definition of sustainable investments and making principal adverse impacts consideration mandatory, that could sway the European Commission’s final approach to product classification, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Insurance Rulings Show Court Hesitancy To Fix Policy Errors

Two recent Court of Appeal insurance decisions highlight that policyholders can only overcome policy drafting errors and claim coverage if there is a very obvious mistake, emphasizing courts' reluctance to rewrite contract terms that are capable of enforcement, says Aaron Le Marquer at Stewarts.
EU Investment Fund Standards Offer Welcome Clarity

The European Commission’s recently published regulatory technical standards for long-term investments, which granted managers greater flexibility with respect to open-ended European long-term investment funds, should help managers active in the space navigate the mandatory liquidity requirements for long-term investment funds, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Nishkaam Paul at Fried Frank.
10 Ways To Manage AI Risks In Service Contracts

With the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act coming into force on Aug. 1 and introducing a new regulatory risk, and with AI technology continuing to develop at pace, parties to services arrangements should employ mechanisms now to build in flexibility and get on the front foot, says James Longster at Travers Smith.
Unpacking The New Concept Of 'Trading Misfeasance'

In addition to granting one of the largest trading awards since the Insolvency Act was passed in 1986, the High Court recently introduced a novel claim for misfeasant trading in Wright v. Chappell, opening the door to liability for directors, even where insolvent liquidation or administration was not inevitable, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.