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Financial Services UK
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September 18, 2025
Allied World Denies Liability In £3M 'Ponzi Scheme' Dispute
An insurer has argued that it does not have to indemnify the liquidators of the business behind an investment plan for more than £3 million ($4 million), arguing there is no evidence that the investment was a Ponzi scheme.
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September 18, 2025
FCA Drops Property Group Probe Despite £55M Client Losses
The financial regulator has ended an investigation into property development investments that lost clients about £55 million ($75 million), deciding that the risk of no returns was fairly put to customers.
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September 18, 2025
US Payments Biz Has 'Makecents' TM Revoked For Non-Use
European officials have ruled in favor of Dutch financial technology company UpToMore, stripping an American competitor's trademark for "makecents" after it failed to prove that it had been used for computer software and bank transactions.
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September 18, 2025
Former SFO Case Controller Joins Boutique Law As Partner
A former case controller at the Serious Fraud Office has joined criminal and regulatory specialist firm Boutique Law LLP as a partner.
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September 18, 2025
Lender Amigo To Become A Cash Shell, Seeks Takeover
Amigo Holdings PLC has said that it will become a company with only cash assets and seek a reverse takeover target after making progress on the planned liquidation of its troubled subprime lending arm.
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September 17, 2025
William Fry Adds Eversheds Ireland Corporate Team Of 12
William Fry LLP said Wednesday it has hired a 12-strong corporate and mergers and acquisitions team from Eversheds Sutherland Ireland, as the Dublin-based firm takes steps to bolster its practice months after a planned merger collapsed.
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September 17, 2025
Funder Says Businessman Colluded To Overturn Asset Case
A litigation funder told a London court on Wednesday that a businessman should not be allowed to participate in proceedings seeking to enforce an asset recovery judgment, because he allegedly improperly colluded with a convicted fraudster to overturn the outcome of past litigation.
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September 17, 2025
FCA Unveils Tough Proposed Rules For Crypto Firms
The Financial Conduct Authority set out Monday its proposed crypto-assets regulatory regime, with some wider reach than its rules for other sectors like banking or insurance to address technological exposures.
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September 17, 2025
Watchdog Floats New Enforcement Plan Amid Oversight Shift
Britian's retirement savings watchdog has said it plans to become a more proactive regulator through a new strategy it hopes will make enforcement "smarter, more strategic and more impactful."
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September 17, 2025
Ex-Consultancy Execs Liable For £2.4M Over Misleading Sale
A Birmingham court has ordered the former owners of a technology consultancy to pay more than £2.4 million ($3.3 million) in damages for selling the company under the misleading impression that some of its client contracts were more profitable than they really were.
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September 17, 2025
Banks Call On BoE To Ease Capital Rules That Harm Lending
Senior bank officials told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that U.K. regulations requiring banks to hold too much capital against lending are driving away business, and that the Bank of England should ease the unnecessary burden to restore the competitive landscape.
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September 17, 2025
Pensions Watchdog Sharpens Focus On Professional Trustees
The Pensions Regulator said Wednesday that it will continue with its plans to strengthen oversight of the professional trustee sector, after it emerged that 80% of the market was controlled by just four providers.
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September 17, 2025
Spanish Online Bank Can't Void Insurance Brokerage's EU TM
A Spanish online bank has lost its attempt to void an insurance brokerage's "Insurance Advisors Associated" trademark, failing to convince European Union officials that there is a risk of confusion with its earlier registrations.
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September 17, 2025
Fox Williams Sues Fintech Biz For £130K Unpaid Legal Fees
Fox Williams LLP has sued a financial technology company at a London court, alleging that it refused to pay fees incurred in an employment dispute with a former employee, according to filings that are now public.
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September 16, 2025
Merrill Lynch Proves Tribunal Claim Barred By Settlement
Merrill Lynch has persuaded a tribunal to toss a former employee's discrimination claim under a settlement he inked when he exited the company, proving that he did not sign the agreement under duress.
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September 16, 2025
Insurer Can't Duck $6M Bond Payout Over Ghana Power Plant
A London court ordered a Ghanaian insurance company on Tuesday to pay a subsidiary of Greek industrial conglomerate Metlen almost $6.3 million for wrongly refusing to pay up under a bond the insurer claimed was obtained by fraud.
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September 16, 2025
Pension Pot Withdrawals Surged Nearly 36%, FCA Says
Savers in Britain withdrew £70.9 million ($96.8 million) from their pension pots in the financial year that ended in March, data published by the Financial Conduct Authority on Tuesday shows, amid suggested concern over government plans to amend tax rules linked to retirement pots.
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September 16, 2025
Let Banks Skip Basel Capital Rules, Trade Body Urges BoE
The Association for Financial Markets in Europe has said that the Bank of England's regulatory arm should allow U.K. finance firms to temporarily opt out of some changes to Basel capital requirements to avoid uncertainty about compliance and risks to competitiveness.
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September 16, 2025
Conister Bank To Work With Fintech Biz On Overdraft Product
Conister Bank said Tuesday that it will work with financial technology company Fiinu to introduce an overdraft product in the U.K. using open banking rules.
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September 16, 2025
State Pension Could Breach Tax Threshold In 2027
British pensioners will be forced to pay income tax on state pension benefits from 2027 unless minimum earnings thresholds are lifted, experts said Tuesday in response to new data.
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September 15, 2025
Only 41% Of Boomers Say They're Ready For Retirement
Only 41% of the more than 3 million working people ages 60 to 69 in the U.K. feel prepared for retirement, Just Group said Monday.
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September 15, 2025
Former Estate Agent Can't Stop Bank Getting Dickens Mansion
A former estate agent cannot prevent a bank from taking possession of her central London mansion that was once home to Charles Dickens after a judge found on Monday that an appeal would have no prospect of success.
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September 15, 2025
Aegon To Extend Pensions App To More Than A Million Savers
Financial services firm Aegon said Monday it wants its Mylo app for tracking pension balances and information to be available to more than a million people, saying it understands the "emotional challenges" people face with their finances.
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September 15, 2025
Kingsley Napley Bags Private Client Pro To Head Tax Desk
Kingsley Napley LLP said Monday that it has hired Paul Davidoff to head its international tax desk as the firm deals with a surge in work connected with tax and trusts amid an exodus of high-net-worth individuals from Britain.
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September 15, 2025
Employers Expect Budget Reform On Pension Salary Sacrifice
Nine out of 10 U.K. employers expect the government to ditch tax breaks on pension salary-sacrifice arrangements when it unveils its autumn Budget, a survey has found.
Expert Analysis
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How UK Proposals Would Simplify Fund Manager Regime
The ongoing HM Treasury consultation and Financial Conduct Authority call for input on the future regulation of alternative investment fund managers indicate that deliberate steps are being taken to make the AIF regime more suitable for the U.K. market, with the aim of encouraging growth and competitiveness, says Leonard Ng at Sidley.
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FCA's Regulatory Plans Signal Cause For Cautious Optimism
The Financial Conduct Authority’s latest strategy document plans for less intrusive supervision, a more open and collaborative approach, and a focus on assertive action where needed, outlining a vision of deepened trust and rebalanced risk that will be welcomed by all those it regulates, says Imogen Makin at WilmerHale.
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What Latest VC Model Document Revisions Offer UK Investors
Recent updates to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association model documents, reflecting prevailing U.K. market practice on early-stage equity financing terms and increasing focus on compliance issues, provide needed protection for investors in relation to the growth in global foreign direct investment regimes, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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FCA's Odey Decision Is Wake-Up Call For Financial Firms
The Financial Conduct Authority recently banned hedge fund boss Crispin Odey from working in financial services, underscoring the critical importance the regulator places on whether individuals are fit and proper to perform regulated activities, and the connection between nonfinancial misconduct and the integrity of the financial markets, say lawyers at Pallas Partners.
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What To Know About FCA's UK Listing Rules Proposal
A recent consultation paper from the Financial Conduct Authority aims to streamline the securities-listing process for U.K.-regulated markets, including by allowing issuers to submit a single application for all securities of the same class, and aligning the disclosure standards for low-denomination and wholesale bonds, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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New UK Short Selling Rules Diverge From EU Regs
Although forthcoming changes to the U.K.’s short selling regulatory regime represent a welcome relaxation of restrictions and simplification of reporting processes, participants active in both the U.K. and EU markets will need to ensure compliance with two quite different sets of rules, says Ezra Zahabi at Akin.
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What Latest FCA Portfolio Letter Means For Payments Firms
Charlotte Hill at Charles Russell discusses the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent portfolio letter to CEOs of payments firms, outlining the regulator’s expectations, and the steps that these companies may now need to take to ensure compliance and operational effectiveness.
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ECB Guide Targets Harmonized Cyber Testing Approach
The European Central Bank’s recently updated guidance for testing organizational resilience against sophisticated cyberattacks is a significant step forward, highlighting the importance of a unified approach to financial sector cybersecurity and alignment with Digital Operational Resilience Act requirements, say Simon Onyons and Nebu Varghese at FTI Consulting.
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Opinion
Prospects For New Fraud Prevention Prosecution Look Slim
With the Labour Party's inherited patchwork of Conservative Party corporate crime legislation for preventing fraud and corruption, the forthcoming Economic Crime Act’s failure to prevent fraud offense is unlikely to be successful in assisting prosecutors bring companies to justice, says Matthew Cowie at Rahman Ravelli.
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What's Next After FCA Drops Troubled 'Name And Shame' Plan
A closer look at the Financial Conduct Authority's recent decision to toss its widely unpopular proposal changing the test for announcing enforcement investigations may reveal how we got here, why the regulator changed course, and where it’s headed next, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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UK Refusal Of US Extradition Request May Set New Standard
The recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling in El-Khouri v. U.S., denying a U.S. extradition request, overturns a long-held precedent and narrows how U.K. courts must decide such requests, potentially signaling a broader reevaluation of U.K. extradition law, say lawyers at Dechert and Kingsley Napley.
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Insights On ESMA's Alternative Investment Fund Consultation
Aaron Mulcahy at Maples Group discusses key points from the European Securities and Markets Authority’s recent consultation on open-ended loan-originating alternative investment funds, highlighting the growth in semi-liquid evergreen funds and explaining ESMA’s proposed standards.
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How UK Supreme Court May Assess Russia Sanctions Cases
In two recent U.K. Supreme Court cases challenging the U.K. Russia sanctions regime, the forthcoming judgments are likely to focus on proportionality and European Convention on Human Rights compatibility, and will undoubtedly influence how future challenges are shaped, says Leigh Crestohl at Zaiwalla.
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New UK Order Offers Welcome Clarity To Crypto Staking Rules
The recently effective Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Amendment Order clarifies that arrangements for qualifying crypto-asset staking do not amount to a collective investment scheme, and by addressing an issue that curtailed staking activities in the U.K., facilitates the use of that practice, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.
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How EU's Anticoercion Tool May Counter New US Tariffs
The never-before-used anticoercion instrument could allow the European Union to respond to the imposition of U.S. tariffs, potentially effective March 12, and gives EU companies a voice in the process as it provides for consultation with economic operators at different steps throughout the procedure, say lawyers at Crowell & Moring.