Industry News

The Court of Appeal holds that the word “shall” does not automatically create a contractual obligation

by Leela|1 May 2019|Industry News

The Court of Appeal (the “Court”) held that the word “shall” did not automatically create a contractual obligation. The word “shall” is regularly used in everyday commercial contracts to impose a contractual obligation on a party to perform or refrain from performing certain actions. Other commonly used phrases such as “ensure” and “procure” are also […]

FCA publishes its 2019/20 Business Plan setting out its priorities for the year ahead

by Leela|18 April 2019|Industry News

On 17 April 2019, the FCA released its business plan for 2019/20 covering some of the following cross-sector priorities: EU withdrawal and international engagements; firms’ culture and governance; operational resilience; financial crime & AML; and innovation and data ethics. Furthermore, their business plan also focuses on a number of sector specific priorities, including those of […]

Our Managing Director was recently quoted in an article by Ignites Europe talking about SMCR

by Leela|4 April 2019|Industry News

Our Managing Director, Emma, was recently quoted in an Ignites Europe article talking about UK firms falling behind on senior managers regime implementation and how some firms are parking SMCR to the Summer so they can focus on Brexit preparations. Click here to read the full article!

An update on Cryptoassets

by Leela|28 March 2019|Industry News

Below we set out recent developments in the cryptoasset space that we think may be of interest. A NEED FOR REGULATION 2018 was a year of international scrutiny for digital currencies. As regulators around the globe wake up to the potential dangers posed by new technology (now falling under the umbrella term of “cryptoassets”), pressure […]

Court of Appeal limits discretion in determining “loss” in a 1992 ISDA

by Leela|22 March 2019|Industry News

The recent case of Lehman Brothers Finance AG (in liquidation) (“LBF”) v Klaus Tschira Stiftung GmbH and Dr H C Tschira Beteiligungs GmbH & Co KG (the “Tschira Parties”)[2019] draws attention to the issue of the amount of discretion a non-defaulting party has when calculating loss under a 1992 ISDA Master Agreement. This is a […]

FCA confirms increase in Financial Ombudsman Service compensation limit

by Leela|15 March 2019|Industry News

The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) confirmed in its Policy Statement PS 19/8 published on 12 March 2019 that the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) will soon be able to require financial services firms to pay double the current amount of compensation to consumers and businesses. The FCA is aware that there is a very short turn […]

FCA rules post Asset Management Market Study

by Leela|14 March 2019|Industry News

In February 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) published a second set of rules following the Asset Management Market Study (“AMMS”), the final report of which was published back in June 2017 (for a detailed analysis of the outcomes and remedies the AMMS, please click here to view our previous newsletter). The fundamental purpose […]

Court of Appeal confirms bank’s discretion on determining “fair market value” in a GMRA

by Leela|6 March 2019|Industry News

In its recent decision in LBI EHF v Raiffeisen Bank International AG [2018],[1]the Court of Appeal confirmed that a non-defaulting party enjoys wide discretion under the default valuation provisions in the 2000 edition Global Master Repurchase Agreement (the “GMRA”) when it comes to determining the “fair market value” of securities, especially in a market that […]

ESMA recognises three UK Clearing Houses in a No Deal Brexit

by Caroline Sheldon|1 March 2019|Industry News

Given the continuing uncertainty surrounding the United Kingdom’s (the “UK”) departure from the European Union (“EU”), regulators and institutions on both sides of the channel have taken a range of initiatives in order to counteract the most dramatic consequences of the UK’s departure from the EU without a withdrawal agreement and implementation period (“no deal […]

ESMA and FCA sign memorandum in case of no deal Brexit

by Leela|1 February 2019|Industry News

In light of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the United Kingdom (“UK”) departure from the European Union (“EU”), regulators and institutions on both sides of the channel have taken a range of initiatives in order to counteract the most dramatic consequences of the UK departure from the EU without a withdrawal agreement and implementation period […]