Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Financial Services UK
-
April 30, 2025
Dentist Fights HMRC Over Alleged Tax Avoidance
A dentist's firm urged an appeals court on Wednesday to find that it had not engaged in tax avoidance by making loan payments to its owner through a trust, saying the payments had no connection to its owner's employment and therefore were not taxable as income.
-
April 30, 2025
Lebanon Bank Loses Jurisdiction Fight In $24M Transfer Case
A Lebanese bank on Wednesday lost its bid to block a Saudi sheikh from suing it in a London court to force it to transfer $24 million to his Swiss bank account amid an economic crisis in Lebanon.
-
April 30, 2025
UBS To Buy Back Further $2.5B Worth Of Shares In 2025
UBS Group AG said on Wednesday it will reward investors by repurchasing up to $2.5 billion in shares this year, despite a drop in net profit and an "unpredictable" economy.
-
April 30, 2025
9M Britons Retire With Meager Private Pensions, Report Says
Almost 9 million people in the U.K. enter retirement "significantly under-pensioned," with annual private pension incomes of between £3,650 ($4,870) to £6,750, according to a report by the Pensions Policy Institute.
-
May 07, 2025
White & Case Hires Back PE Pro From Kirkland In London
White & Case LLP announced Wednesday the return of a corporate partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP to boost its cross-border private equity offering to deal with the increase in transactions it expects to continue through the year.
-
April 30, 2025
FCA Says Meta Slacking In The Removal Of Suspect Ads
The Financial Conduct Authority named Facebook owner Meta on Wednesday as the biggest laggard among the big tech companies in terms of responding to requests to take down material from "finfluencers" about whom the watchdog had issued warnings.
-
April 30, 2025
Justices To Decide Asset Split In Banker's £112M Divorce Case
The former wife of a UBS banker told the U.K. Supreme Court on Wednesday that she should get an equal split of their £112 million ($149 million) family wealth in a case that could confirm whether assets generated outside marriage can ever be shared.
-
April 30, 2025
HMRC Should Use AI To Boost Services, Report Says
​​​​​​HM Revenue & Customs is still not doing enough to improve its services and should prepare to use artificial intelligence to enhance customer service for U.K. taxpayers and increase its productivity, according to a parliamentary report.
-
April 30, 2025
UK Finance Sector Calls For Cuts To Audit Regulation
A group of finance and corporate trade bodies urged the government on Wednesday to reduce and simplify regulation of auditors to support U.K. growth.
-
April 30, 2025
Lender Says Company Owner Gifted Biz To Son To Evade Debt
A finance provider has sued a businessman for allegedly gifting a company to his son the day after the lender had demanded payment of more than £4.7 million ($6.3 million) under a loan guarantee.
-
April 30, 2025
Gov't To Push Through Collective Pension Rules In Autumn
The U.K. government said it plans to introduce new regulation in the latter half of the year to allow the introduction of new forms of collective pension plans.
-
April 29, 2025
FCA Proposes Live AI Testing Service For Firms
The City watchdog proposed on Tuesday a testing service for companies as they check the readiness of their new artificial intelligence tools, a program it believes can help it to better understand the impact of the technology on markets.
-
April 29, 2025
Gov't Cracks Down On Crime With UK Cryptocurrency Rules
HM Treasury unveiled new regulations for crypto-exchanges on Tuesday, which it said would protect the growing number of adults who are investing ​in risky assets, while encouraging innovation in the sector.
-
April 29, 2025
Burness Paull Guides £7.5M Pension Deal For Fuel Biz
Aviva PLC has bought out £7.5 million ($10 million) of the pension arrangement liabilities of Gleaner Ltd., advisers said Tuesday, in a deal steered by law firm Burness Paull LLP.
-
April 29, 2025
Pensions Watchdog Issues Covenant Warning Amid Tariffs
The U.K.'s retirement savings watchdog warned pension schemes on Tuesday to be mindful of the impact of global trade tariffs as it said it had found that more than half have a funding surplus.
-
April 29, 2025
Ex-Russells Partner Denies Role In Alleged Share Sale Plot
Russells Solicitors and a former partner have denied being part of an alleged plot to hide plans for a $40 million takeover of a celebrity intellectual property licensing company to get a former director to sell his shares cheaply.
-
April 29, 2025
HSBC Banks On $3B Buyback After Strong Figures
HSBC Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it will buy back $3 billion of its shares after the British banking giant reported strong results for the first quarter 2025.
-
April 29, 2025
UK Treasury Appoints 4 New FCA Board Members
HM Treasury said Tuesday it has appointed four new members to the board of the Financial Conduct Authority.
-
April 29, 2025
FCA Set To Get Enforcement Boost From New Fraud Offense
The new "failure to prevent" fraud offense that comes into force in September will indirectly boost the Financial Conduct Authority's opportunities for enforcement against corporate senior managers, countering its recent retreat from plans to "name and shame" companies it is investigating, lawyers say.Â
-
April 29, 2025
EU Prosecutors Accuse Audit Body Of Blocking Fraud Probe
European Union prosecutors have sued the European Court of Auditors for blocking a request for several of the court's members of staff to testify in a criminal investigation launched in the wake of allegations of fraud at the top of the audit institution.
-
April 28, 2025
Watchdog Warns Of Significant Errors In Digital Reporting
The accounting watchdog warned Monday that some companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are making significant errors in their digital annual reports through incorrect tagging.
-
April 28, 2025
Gov't Urged To Act On Critical Pension Switching Delays
The government must step in to mandate faster retirement saving transfers, a pensions provider warned Monday, saying that in some cases customers have been left waiting three years for the process to complete.
-
April 28, 2025
Court Compels Disclosure In £500K Phone Crypto-Theft Case
The victim of a phone-snatching in London has secured a court order compelling four companies offering digital asset exchange services to disclose documents tied to an alleged fraud perpetrated against them after £500,000 ($667,000) in cryptocurrency was drained from his account.
-
April 28, 2025
Investment Services Biz Denies Swiss Bank Deal Breach
Investment services company Otala.Markets has hit back at a €1.5 million ($1.7 million) claim brought by Swiss bank Credinvest, telling the High Court that it did not breach its contract with the lender when it accidentally tried to terminate the deal.
-
April 28, 2025
Lender Sues Auditor For £1.8M Over Faulty Car Reports
A provider of business finance has alleged that an auditor inaccurately recorded the assets of a London car dealership, leading the lender to lose more than £1.8 million ($2.4 million) that it handed over to the motor sales company based on the faulty assessment.
Expert Analysis
-
Testing The Limits Of English Courts' Pro-Arbitration Stance
Although the Court of Appeal recently upheld a $64 million arbitration award in Eternity Sky v. Zhang, the judgment offers rare insight into when the English courts’ general inclination to enforce arbitral awards may be outweighed by competing policy interests such as consumer rights, say Declan Gallivan and Peter Morton at K&L Gates.
-
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.
-
£43M Legal Bill Case Shows Courts' View On Exchange Rates
A recent Court of Appeal decision declined to change the currency used for payment of the Nigerian government's legal bill, aligning with British courts' consensus that they should not be concerned with how fluctuating exchange rates might benefit one party over another, says Francis Kendall at Kain Knight.
-
Examining The EU's New Payments Services Package
Following recent European Parliament elections, the spotlight is turning to the highly anticipated payments services package expected in September, marking a pivotal moment in the legislative process that will reshape the payment services ecosystem in the European Union, says Kristýna Tupá and KarolÃna Hlavinková at Schoenherr.
-
Examining The State Of Paccar Fixes After General Election
Following the U.K. Supreme Court's Paccar decision last year, which made many litigation funding agreements for opt-out collective actions in the Competition Appeal Tribunal unenforceable, the judiciary will likely take charge in implementing any fixes — but the general election has created uncertainty, says Ben Knowles at Clyde & Co.
-
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.
-
Opinion
Without Change, Fighting Fraud Is A Losing Battle For The UK
To successfully fight fraud cases in the U.K. — like the Russian Coms scam recently shut down by the National Crime Agency — it is clear there needs to be significant investment in recruiting and training expert investigators, and meaningful engagement between the country’s intelligence platforms, says Anthony Hanratty at Howard Kennedy.
-
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.
-
2 UK Rulings Highlight Persistent Push Payment Fraud Issues
Two recent High Court decisions, Larsson v. Revolut and Terna DOO v. Revolut, demonstrate that authorized push payment fraud continues to cause headaches for consumers and financial institutions alike, and with forthcoming mandatory reimbursement requirements, more APP fraud litigation can be expected, say lawyers at Charles Russell.
-
Open Questions 3 Years After 2nd Circ.'s Fugitive Ruling
The Second Circuit’s 2021 decision in U.S. v. Bescond, holding that a French resident indicted abroad did not meet the legal definition of a fugitive, deepened a circuit split on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, and courts continue to grapple with the doctrine’s reach and applicability, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
-
Key Points From UK Prospectus Regime Reform Consultation
The Financial Conduct Authority's current consultation on U.K. prospectus regime reform proposals, including when a prospectus will be required and the requirements concerning content, is designed to enhance the attractiveness of the U.K.'s capital markets, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
-
Why NCA's 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Funds Is Significant
The National Crime Agency’s recently secured forfeiture of a Russian oligarch's sanctioned funds was a landmark achievement, and is particularly notable because it was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act, illustrating how U.K. authorities can coordinate their respective powers to confiscate assets, says Lindsey Cullen at WilmerHale.
-
Takeaways From New FCA Rules On Research Payments
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published final rules on payment optionality for investment research, which involve a client disclosure obligation option, will be welcome news for U.K. managers who buy investment research from U.S. brokers, and for global asset management groups, says Anna Maleva-Otto at Schulte Roth.
-
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.
-
Int'l Treaties May Aid Investors Amid UK Rail Renationalization
The recently introduced Passenger Railway Services Bill seeks to return British railways to public ownership without compensating affected investors, a move that could trigger international investment treaty protections for obligation breaches, says Philipp Kurek at Signature Litigation.