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Financial Services UK

  • July 14, 2025

    Clifford Chance Denies Blame For SocGen's $483M Gold Loss

    Clifford Chance LLP has denied breaching any duty to Société Générale SA with its advice on a $483 million gold bullion dispute, telling a London court that the blame for the French bank's failed claim lies elsewhere.

  • July 14, 2025

    Lender Denies Helping Pharma Boss Secure Secret £6M Loan

    A business lender has denied working with the now-former chief executive officer of an online pharmacy to take out about £6.1 million ($8.2 million) in unauthorized loans under the company's name without the knowledge of investors or board members.

  • July 14, 2025

    Wealth Manager Sues For £4.5M Over Failed Investment Deal

    A Swiss wealth manager has sued a U.K. company for 5 million Swiss francs ($6.3 million), saying that it failed to return its investment after a share purchase deal went sideways.

  • July 14, 2025

    HSBC Becomes Latest Bank To Quit Net Zero Finance Group

    HSBC has become the latest bank to quit a global banking coalition focused on mitigating climate change in alignment with the Paris Agreement, following multiple recent departures by lenders.

  • July 14, 2025

    Investment Association Urges Better Support For UK Retirees

    The Investment Association has said Britain can do more to help its savers use their money more wisely once they retire, mapping out a string of proposals it said would support better outcomes in later life.

  • July 14, 2025

    Gov't Reforms Needed To Unlock FCA's Targeted Support Plan

    The financial watchdog's planned "targeted support" program for consumers requires government legislation or guidance to remove legal obstacles to direct marketing — and regulatory experts expect the first step to come at the Mansion House address by Chancellor Rachel Reeves late on Tuesday.

  • July 14, 2025

    Crédit Agricole Seeks ECB Approval To Buy 20% BPM Stake

    French lender Crédit Agricole said Monday that it is seeking approval from the European Central Bank to increase its stake in Italian rival Banco BPM to more than 20%.

  • July 11, 2025

    Deceased Financiers' Assets Tapped To Cover Thai Bank Debt

    The liquidators of a collapsed Thai lender can be paid from the English assets of two deceased financiers convicted over an embezzlement scheme, after a judge held Friday the funds can go to partially cover a judgment debt totaling £60 million ($81 million).

  • July 11, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen HS2 hit with a defamation claim by two ex-employees who blew the whistle on alleged under-reporting of costs, Craig Wright and nChain face legal action brought by its former chief financial officer over a fraud scheme, and pro-footballer Axel Tuanzebe bring a clinical negligence claim against his former club Manchester United F.C. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 11, 2025

    City Group Asks Gov't For Light-Touch Carbon Market Regs

    A financial services trade body said Friday it has asked the government for light-touch regulation of voluntary carbon and nature markets in the U.K., using existing watchdogs.

  • July 11, 2025

    ESMA Warns Crypto Firms To Clarify Unregulated Products

    The European Union's financial markets watchdog said Friday that regulated crypto-asset service providers must make it clear to consumers which of the products and services they offer are unregulated. 

  • July 11, 2025

    Ex-Insurance CEO's Wife Can't Ax £15M Asset Freeze

    A London appeals court upheld a £15 million ($20.3 million) asset freeze on Friday against the wife of a former insurance company executive who is accused of cashing in on money her husband siphoned off from the business.

  • July 11, 2025

    Staley Tribunal Decision Could Fuel Challenges To FCA Fines

    A landmark tribunal ruling that upheld the Financial Conduct Authority's ban of ex-Barclays CEO James "Jes" Staley from banking — but slashed his fine — could ultimately lead other executives with back-loaded pay packages to fight the watchdog's decisions, lawyers say.

  • July 10, 2025

    Rusal Can Serve Claim On Abramovich Via Oligarch's Lawyers

    A London judge on Thursday approved Russian aluminum giant Rusal to serve a claim on Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich via his lawyers over alleged breaches of an agreement setting out the governance of a Russian mining company.

  • July 10, 2025

    UK Watchdog Investigating Deloitte, Azets Over Stenn Audits

    The U.K. accounting watchdog said Thursday it has started investigations into accounting firms Azets Audit Services Ltd. and Deloitte LLP over their audit of U.K. invoice financing firm Stenn Assets, which collapsed in 2024 after a lender found suspicious transactions.

  • July 10, 2025

    Swiss PE Group To Buy Stake In Indian Lender For $228M

    Swiss private equity shop Partners Group said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire a "significant majority stake" in Infinity Fincorp Solutions, a non-bank lender in India, for 19.5 billion Indian rupees ($228 million).

  • July 10, 2025

    Aegon Urges Bold Pension Reforms In Anticipated UK Review

    The U.K. government should launch its pensions adequacy review as part of its annual financial services strategy announcement next week, an insurer said Thursday.

  • July 10, 2025

    FCA Plans Investor Rule Overhaul To Boost Capital Markets

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday that it will amend its client categorization rules in a bid to encourage wealthy and experienced investors to plow more cash into London's ailing equity capital markets.

  • July 10, 2025

    BoE Head Bailey Opposes Gov't Pension Investment Mandate

    The governor of the Bank of England has said he disagrees with the idea of requiring pension funds by law to invest in U.K. assets, in an intervention that experts say could have a knock-on effect for flagship legislation for the sector.

  • July 10, 2025

    Clifford Chance Guides Jupiter's £100M CCLA Deal

    London-listed Jupiter Fund Management PLC said Thursday that it will buy ethical investment company CCLA for £100 million ($136 million) in a bid to break into managing assets in the non-profit sector.

  • July 09, 2025

    Sweden Wins €60M Pension Fraud Case Against Financier

    A London court has ruled that a financier defrauded the Swedish government by setting up an illegitimate investment fund that took €60.7 million ($71.1 million) from savers' pension accounts.

  • July 09, 2025

    British Airways Pensions Biz Unfairly Sacked Investment Exec

    An employment tribunal has ruled that British Airways' pensions unit botched an investigation into a senior investment specialist over a confidential email he sent to himself during a workplace restructuring dispute, even though the employee was partly responsible for his ultimate dismissal.

  • July 09, 2025

    Authorities Urged To Stagger Local Gov't Pension Fixes

    The U.K. government should stagger the raft of proposed fixes to the Local Government Pension Scheme so as not to overwhelm administrators, Hymans Robertson has warned, calling for expectations to be realistic.

  • July 09, 2025

    BoE Flags Cyber Risk Blind Spots In Stress Test

    The Bank of England's regulatory arm has warned companies that financial firms are ill-prepared for a cyberattack that threatens timely settlements.

  • July 09, 2025

    Crédit Agricole Nets €183M In Exit From Loto Owner

    French insurer Crédit Agricole said Wednesday that it has sold its remaining stake in FDJ United for approximately €183.3 million ($215 million), marking its exit from the international lottery gaming operator.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Takeaways From EU's Coming Digital Act

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    The European Union's impending Digital Operational Resilience Act will necessitate closer collaboration on resilience, risk management and compliance, and crucial challenges include ensuring IT third-party service providers meet the requirements on or before January 2025, says Susie MacKenzie at Coralytics.

  • Cross Market Drill Highlights Operational Resilience Priorities

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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