Behind the veil – Can Islamic finance live up to the sales pitch?

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‘You can’t be a credible financial centre without having a credible Islamic finance programme,’ says Qudeer Latif, head of Clifford Chance’s global Islamic practice. With studies expecting the Muslim population to grow twice as fast as the non-Muslim demographic over the next 20 years global financial institutions and governments are falling over themselves to offer Islamic finance products.

According to EY’s latest study of the global Islamic finance market, the total amount of Islamic assets held by commercial banks was expected to have grown by around 40% from 2011 to 2013, from $1.3trn to $1.8trn. 78% of international Islamic assets are held in Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UAE and Turkey. In Qatar, for example, Georges Racine, director of Swiss firm Lalive’s Doha operation, says that Islamic banking has grown quicker than the banking sector as a whole over the past few years as a result of its government’s supportive measures.

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EY grows UK legal capability with hire of BLP’s former finance head Matthew Kellett

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EY today (29 April) took further steps to build its UK legal capability with the hire of Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP’s) former head of finance Matthew Kellett, with Kellett set to spearhead the accounting giant’s financial services legal work. Continue reading “EY grows UK legal capability with hire of BLP’s former finance head Matthew Kellett”

‘There are no “diet-coke” partnerships at Freshfields’: Barry O’Brien on a new career at Jefferies

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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer former corporate head Barry O’Brien last month (31 March) hung up his Magic Circle boots to move into a client development role at US investment bank Jefferies. Before joining, the former rugby playing high flyer spoke to Legal Business about diet coke partnerships, retirement, and moving away from the Magic Circle.

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Profile: Andrew Whittaker and Kate Cheetham, Lloyds Banking Group

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The bank’s group and deputy GCs discuss the split of Lloyds and TSB, and helping Lloyds’ efforts to rebuild trust after the banking crisis.

When Andrew Whittaker joined Lloyds Banking Group as group general counsel (GC) in May 2013, the message to the market behind his move following a 13-year stint as GC of the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) was not lost.

The trend towards embracing regulatory skills (think now-departed FSA chief executive Hector Sants’ appointment as compliance head at Barclays) came as the major high street bank continued to deal with the fallout of the financial crisis, which for Lloyds meant a multi-billion pound bail-out by the UK government. That is to say nothing of its implication in payment protection insurance mis-selling and ongoing investigations into its involvement in alleged Libor rigging.

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Showing its teeth: SFO charges Barclays trio over Libor as watchdog publishes new deferred prosecution code

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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.

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Staying on top – inside the 10 firms aiming to dominate the global offshore market

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Offshore jurisdictions have responded proactively to recent global initiatives affecting how they operate. Legal Business assesses recent developments and profiles the top offshore law firms

Law firms are noted for their ability to turn difficult situations to their advantage and the global offshore giants have certainly demonstrated this quality in recent years. While the vast majority of these firms are more opaque about their financial performance than even the offshore tax arrangements that have come under global scrutiny in recent years, some report double-digit growth in revenues and in the main it appears, despite the general economic malaise, they are well insulated against a crisis.

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