Wonga, the UK’s biggest payday lender, has entered an agreement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which will see it pay compensation of over £2.6m to around 45,000 customers for unfair and misleading debt collection practices. Continue reading “Wonga to pay £2.6m for ‘unfair and misleading’ debt collection practices”
FCA sets aside £1.7m for Clifford Chance’s insurance industry probe
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set aside £1.7m for the independent inquiry being conducted by Clifford Chance (CC) into the regulatory body’s botched announcement of an investigation into the insurance industry, a freedom of information request has revealed. Continue reading “FCA sets aside £1.7m for Clifford Chance’s insurance industry probe”
‘A treasure trove for potential claimants’ – forex scandal to bring windfall of instructions to UK firms
US class action filed ahead of DoJ findings targets more than a dozen investors
UK financial disputes partners are gearing up to take on lucrative ‘break the bank’ instructions in the now global investigation into foreign exchange manipulation, as the US class action against a host of investment banks continues to grow, gifting Allen & Overy (A&O) with a lucrative New York mandate.
The class action, which has been filed ahead of any findings by the Department of Justice (DoJ) over whether traders colluded to manipulate the estimated $5.3trn a day foreign exchange market (forex), most recently saw over a dozen investors, including several large US pension funds sign up to an antitrust lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York.
FCA turns to Clifford Chance’s Davis over handling of proposed insurance industry review
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Clifford Chance‘s senior commercial litigation partner Simon Davis to conduct an independent inquiry into the handling of the body’s botched announcement of an investigation into the insurance industry.
Regulatory coup: Herbert Smith Freehills hires Deutsche Bank’s global head of compliance
In a major regulatory hire for Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), the top 10 LB100 firm has hired Deutsche Bank’s global head of compliance, governance and regulatory affairs Andrew Proctor to join its global financial services regulatory practice. Continue reading “Regulatory coup: Herbert Smith Freehills hires Deutsche Bank’s global head of compliance”
Showing its teeth: SFO charges Barclays trio over Libor as watchdog publishes new deferred prosecution code
In a move emphasising the increasing efforts of the Serious Fraud Office to overhaul its image, the body announced on Monday (18 February) that it had launched proceedings against three former Barclays employees over allegations they ‘conspired to defraud’ over the benchmark interest rate, Libor.
Charges against Peter Johnson, Jonathan Mathew and Stylianos Contogoulas relate to the manipulation of Libor between 1 June 2005 and 31 August 2007. The criminal proceedings began yesterday and all three will be expected to attend at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 26 February.
Regulatory: Embattled SFO requests £19m emergency funding for ‘blockbuster’ litigation
The Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO’s) somewhat fraught efforts to redefine itself by focusing on higher profile, higher risk complex fraud, bribery and corruption cases yesterday (30 January) led the organisation to ask the Government for emergency funding of £19m.
The request for ‘blockbuster funding’ is to help bankroll large international investigations including Libor, Barclays Qatar and Rolls Royce and in the defence of a multi-million pound damages claim brought by the Tchenguiz brothers. Continue reading “Regulatory: Embattled SFO requests £19m emergency funding for ‘blockbuster’ litigation”
Post Clifford Chance role for Childs as Financial Reporting Council announce his appointment as Chair
Clifford Chance (CC) outgoing managing partner David Childs has been appointed by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as chair of its conduct committee, taking over the role from Herbert Smith Freehills consultant Richard Fleck.
The FRC is the independent regulator for the accounting and actuarial profession and its conduct committee oversees the conduct division, responsible for the monitoring of recognised supervisory and qualifying bodies, audit quality reviews, corporate reporting reviews, and professional discipline. Continue reading “Post Clifford Chance role for Childs as Financial Reporting Council announce his appointment as Chair”
Regulatory squeeze – JP Morgan sees rare loss after setting aside $9.2bn in legal fees
As if any reminder was needed of the impact that increased regulation and the continuing fallout from the financial crisis is having on the banking community JP Morgan on Friday (11 October) reported a $380m third quarter loss after setting aside $9.2bn to cover its legal fees.
The results are the first quarterly loss for the bank in eight years, with chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon claiming that its ‘strong underlying performance’ this term was ‘marred by large legal expense.’
JP Morgan last reported a quarterly loss in 2004, also as a result of legal expenses, in that case related to WorldCom and Enron. Continue reading “Regulatory squeeze – JP Morgan sees rare loss after setting aside $9.2bn in legal fees”
From a big bang to a whimper – infighting and calls for reform of regulatory framework
Caroline Hill and Sarah Downey assess the agendas in the MoJ’s review of regulation
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)’s decision to conduct a review of the profession’s regulatory landscape comes just a little over a year since the landmark Legal Services Act (LSA) came fully into force. The irony is that barely has the radical reform been enacted that was supposed to sort out fundamental problems with professional standards and all parties seemingly now believes it’s time to once again go back to the drawing board.
Since justice minister Helen Grant announced in June that the government would look at ‘what could be done to simplify the regulatory framework and reduce unnecessary burdens on the legal sector’, the MoJ has received submissions from the City of London Law Society (CLLS), the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Law Society, the Legal Services Board (LSB), the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP), the Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board (BSB).