Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc and Others – Times Law Reports

Posted April 29th, 2008 in banking, consumer protection, contracts, law reports by sally

Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc and Others

Queen’s Bench Division

“Terms in standard form contracts between bank and customer providing for relevant charges were not exempt from assessment as to fairness.”

The Times, 29th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

‘Fear keeps you on your toes’ – The Times

Posted April 29th, 2008 in banking, barristers, special report by sally

” The commercial court of Mr Justice Andrew Smith was stuffed with barristers last Thursday, but one QC was the main focus of attention. The case was the challenge to bank charges that could affect every bank current account holder in Britain. At the original hearing in February, Laurence Rabinowitz represented the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of eight lenders accused of levying unfair overdraft charges. It also fell to him to put the lead argument to the court for all the banks, saying that the alternative would be to charge on every transaction.”

Full story

The Times, 29th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc and Others – WLR Daily

Posted April 25th, 2008 in banking, consumer protection, contracts, law reports by sally

Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc and Others [2008] EWHC 875 (Comm); [2008] WLR (D) 128

Terms in standard form contracts between bank and customer providing for relevant charges were not exempt from assessment as to fairness under reg 6 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.”

WLR Daily, 25th April 2008

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Banks told to stop stalling and pay up after verdict on charges – The Times

Posted April 25th, 2008 in banking, news, penalties by sally

“Banks have been accused of trying to block compensation claims from customers, after they refused to accept the findings of a High Court test case on penalty charges.”

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The Times, 25th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Small shareholders seek judicial review over Northern Rock compensation – The Times

Posted April 24th, 2008 in banking, compensation, judicial review, nationalisation, news by sally

“Northern Rock’s small shareholders will take High Court action against the Treasury within weeks after the Government’s lawyers rejected their plea for compensation.”

Full story

The Times, 24th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Bank charges ruling due on Thursday – The Guardian

Posted April 21st, 2008 in banking, news by sally

“The long-running controversy over bank charges could come a step closer to being resolved this week after it was announced that the judge hearing the test case would be handing down his judgment on Thursday.”

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The Guardian, 21st April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bank details ‘being sold for £5 on the internet’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 9th, 2008 in banking, computer crime, internet, news by sally

“Bank account details are selling for as little as £5 as part of a thriving trade in stolen information on the internet, according to a report.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th April 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Credit crunch fallout could drag on for years, lawyers warn – The Times

Posted March 31st, 2008 in banking, financial regulation, news by sally

“Lawyers across the City have been sifting through traders’ e-mails and listening to recordings of their phone conversations in an attempt to piece together thousands of financial transactions.”

Full story

The Times, 31st March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Watchdog admits failure over Rock – BBC News

Posted March 27th, 2008 in banking, financial regulation, news by sally

“The UK financial watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has admitted it failed to regulate Northern Rock adequately.”

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BBC News, 26th March 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Northern Rock shareholders prepare legal challenge for violation of human rights – The Times

Posted March 20th, 2008 in banking, human rights, nationalisation, news by sally

“Northern Rock’s army of small shareholders took their campaign for compensation to the courts yesterday as they accused the Government of abusing their human rights by nationalising the stricken mortgage lender.”

Full story

The Times, 20th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Grosvenor Casinos Ltd v National Bank of Abu Dhabi – WLR Daily

Posted March 19th, 2008 in banking, contracts, law reports by sally

Grosvenor Casinos Ltd v National Bank of Abu Dhabi [2008] EWHC 511 (Comm); [2008] WLR (D) 88

“The Uniform Rules for Collections 522 relating to international banking and collection processes did not create privity of contract between the principal and the collecting bank.”

WLR Daily, 18th March 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

FSA drops plan to force banks to inform on clients – The Times

Posted March 10th, 2008 in banking, financial regulation, news by sally

” The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has dropped a plan to force investment banks to inform on companies they brought to market long after the initial flotation was completed, the regulator confirmed today.”

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The Times, 6th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Biggest investor ready to sue over Rock – The Guardian

Posted March 3rd, 2008 in banking, news by sally

“The biggest investor in Northern Rock, SRM Global, is preparing to launch legal action against the government and regulators this week over their role in the collapse of the nationalised bank.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sisters jailed after spending bank’s error – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 29th, 2008 in banking, news, sentencing, theft by sally

“Two sisters have been given custodial sentences for helping to spend nearly £135,000 which was put into one of their bank accounts by mistake.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th February 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Socimer International Bank Ltd (in liquidation) v Standard Bank London Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted February 26th, 2008 in banking, contracts, debts, law reports, valuation by sally

Socimer International Bank Ltd (in liquidation) v Standard Bank London Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 116; WLR (D) 58

“Where a commercial agreement obliged a creditor bank to determine the value of the assets of the defaulting debtor bank at the date of termination, the creditor bank’s obligation was to carry out an honest, but otherwise subjective valuation.”

WLR Daily, 25th February 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

One small legal step and a giant leap for Northern Rock – The Lawyer

Posted February 25th, 2008 in banking, news by sally

“Northern Rock passed into public ownership last Friday (22 February) following what was ultimately a very simple legal process.”

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The Lawyer, 25th February 2008

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008

Posted February 25th, 2008 in banking, legislation by sally

Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 published

Full text of Act

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Treasury seeks to head off legal action – The Independent

Posted February 19th, 2008 in banking, news by sally

“The Government will try to head off legal challenges to nationalisation from Northern Rock shareholders by appointing an independent arbitrator to value the battered lender.”

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The Independent, 18th February 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Law firms get set to sue investment banks – The Times

Posted February 18th, 2008 in banking, law firms, news by sally

“An increasing number of City law firms are breaking one of the profession’s greatest unwritten rules by positioning themselves to sue investment banks, confident that the first of an expected wave of lawsuits arising from the credit crunch will emerge in Britain within weeks.”

Full story

The Times, 18th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Demand for legal advice surges amid growing threat of credit-crunch lawsuits – Financial Times

Posted February 5th, 2008 in banking, news by sally

“Big banks and their clients are gearing up for possible post-credit crunch lawsuits that may start hitting the courts within six months, leading lawyers said yesterday.”

Full story

Financial Times, 5th February 2008
Source: www.ft.com