Women earn two-thirds less than men in top finance roles – report – The Guardian

Posted March 1st, 2021 in banking, equality, news, remuneration, sex discrimination, statistics, women by tracey

‘Female directors at the UK’s largest financial services firms earn on average two-thirds less than their male counterparts, new research shows, underlining the pay gap that still exists between men and women at the highest levels in the financial sector.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 1st March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court strikes out bid by councils to rescind loans from Barclays following ‘LIBOR’ rigging affair – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 24th, 2021 in banking, damages, fraud, loans, local government, misrepresentation, news, striking out by sally

‘A High Court judge has struck out claims brought by seven councils and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for rescission of certain loans with Barclays which they said were affected by the LIBOR rigging affair of 2012.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 23rd February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Drawing the boundaries of the Quincecare duty in cases of fraud (Philipp v Barclays Bank plc) – Forum Chambers

Posted February 11th, 2021 in banking, chambers articles, duty of care, fraud, news by sally

‘Dispute Resolution analysis: Barclays Bank plc successfully applied for summary judgment against Mrs Philipp (the claimant) in respect of her claim that Barclays breached its so-called Quincecare duty in failing to prevent the fraudulent dissipation of £700,000 following an authorised push payment fraud, ie a fraud where the victim is induced by the fraudster to authorise a payment instruction to transfer funds to the fraudster. The High Court determined that the claimant’s claim had no real prospects of success since the claim was dependent upon an impermissible and unprincipled extension of the Quincecare duty to situations where a bank acts on a customer’s authorised payment instructions. The duty was held to be confined to situations where an agent of the customer sought to misappropriate funds as had been the case in previously decided cases such as Singularis Holdings Ltd (In Official Liquidation.’

Full Story

Forum Chambers, 2nd February 2021

Source: www.forumchambers.com

Unsealed claim forms not good service, High Court rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 18th, 2020 in banking, claims management, competition, documents, news, service, time limits by sally

‘A High Court judge has penalised litigants who served an unsealed amended claim form within the approved deadline, stating that this ultimately did not constitute good service.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 17th December 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

City watchdog failed to regulate firm that lost investors’ £236m – The Guardian

Posted December 18th, 2020 in banking, financial regulation, financial services ombudsman, inquiries, news by sally

‘The UK’s financial watchdog failed to properly supervise and regulate London Capital & Finance, a mini-bond provider, before the firm collapsed and wiped out the savings of thousands of people, an independent inquiry has concluded.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Collective Actions in the Supreme Court – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

‘The big news from today’s UK Supreme Court collective action decision in Mastercard v Merricks [2020] UKSC 51 is not only that Mr Merricks won and defeated the appeal, but that the Supreme Court approached the issues in a far more claimant-friendly way than even the Court of Appeal had done.’

Full Story

Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 11th December 2020

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Mastercard judgment ‘lowers bar’ for collective action – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling against Mastercard will make it easier for group damages claims to proceed to trial, commentators have said. However, the card issuer’s solicitors have stressed the “very unusual circumstances” of the judgment, in which justices were divided on key issues.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Child Trust Fund court fees waived for parents – Ministry of Justice

‘Parents or guardians of children who lack mental capacity can ask for court fees to be waived when seeking access to a Child Trust Fund, the government has announced today (1 December, 2020).’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 1st December 2020

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

SONIA and the ‘Tough Legacy’ of LIBOR – Henderson Chambers

‘At the end of 2021 the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will be discontinued. In its place the Financial Conduct Authority is proposing a different rate to become the market standard, the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA). What is the impact of LIBOR’s discontinuance on regulated credit agreements? How might regulated lenders approach a transfer to SONIA? Will the Government legislate to assist with the change?’

Full Story

Henderson Chambers, 7th October 2020

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

UK court overturns ruling on $1.8bn of Venezuelan gold – The Guardian

‘A battle for the control of more than $1.8bn worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England has swung in favour of the government of Nicolás Maduro after an appeals court in London overturned an earlier high court ruling concerning whom the UK recognised as Venezuela’s president.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 5th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Landmark Supreme Court Judgment on Interchange Fees – Monckton Chambers

Posted July 10th, 2020 in appeals, banking, chambers articles, competition, fees, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 17 June 2020, the Supreme Court (Lords Reed, Hodge, Lloyd-Jones, Sales and Hamblen) handed down a landmark judgment on whether certain fees which are paid by merchants to banks under the Visa and Mastercard payment card schemes breach competition law. The judgment finally settles years of litigation in the UK courts, and deep divisions in the rulings which had been given in the lower courts and tribunals. It is also the first judgment of the Supreme Court dealing with the Court of Appeal’s powers of remittal.’

Full Story

Monckton Chambers, July 2020

Source: www.monckton.com

Commerzbank fined £38m by UK watchdog for money-laundering failings – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2020 in banking, financial regulation, fines, money laundering, news by sally

‘The UK’s financial regulator has fined Commerzbank £38m for money-laundering failures, including an “out-of-control” system for checking clients.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lloyds fined £64m for unfair treatment of mortgage customers – The Guardian

Posted June 12th, 2020 in banking, financial services ombudsman, fines, housing, mortgages, news by sally

‘Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £64m by the City watchdog for failing to treat mortgage customers fairly after they fell into financial difficulty.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK court must decide which leader to recognise in Venezuela gold case – The Guardian

Posted June 2nd, 2020 in banking, international relations, news, political parties by sally

‘A court in London has said that it will need to decide which of Venezuela’s duelling political factions to recognise before ruling on president Nicolas Maduro’s request for the Bank of England to hand over gold the country has in its vaults.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 28th May 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Judgment: Cardtronics UK Ltd & Ors v Skyes & Ors (Valuation Officers) – UKSC Blog

Posted May 27th, 2020 in banking, news, rates, Supreme Court by sally

‘These appeals concern the treatment for rating purposes of ATMs situated in supermarkets or shops owned and operated by the retailers. The issues raised by the case were whether the sites of the ATMS are to be properly identified as separate hereditaments from the stores and if so who was in rateable occupation of the separate hereditaments. Hereditament is defined in the General Rate Act 1967, s 115 (1) as “property which is or may become liable to a rate, being a unit of such property which is, or would fall to be, shown as a separate item on the valuation list”.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 26th May 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

The implications for UK financial institutions and the FCA resulting from the EBA’s Report on Inquiry into Cum-Ex – 5SAH

‘The European Banking Authority’s long-awaited inquiry into dividend arbitrage trading schemes (“Cum-Ex/Cum-Cum”) and 10-point action plan to enhance the future regulatory framework – what are the implications for UK financial institutions and the Financial Conduct Authority?’

Full Story

5SAH, 13th May 2020

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

Rights & Wrongs? Standard of proof in dishonesty cases considered by the Court of Appeal – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 12th, 2020 in banking, conspiracy, fraud, illegality, news, standard of proof by sally

‘The standard of proof in dishonesty cases: simple to state, difficult to apply. In Bank St Petersburg PJSC v Arkhangelsky [2020] EWCA Civ 408 the difficulty led the Court of Appeal to reverse an experienced High Court judge’s dismissal of a counterclaim. The matter was remitted after a 46 day trial spread over 6 months in 2016, 22 months waiting for a 388 page judgment and nearly 2 years waiting for the Court of Appeal decision on 18 March 2020. Jack Dillon and Amy Held consider the implications.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 10th May 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Case Comment: Aspen Underwriting Ltd and others v Credit Europe Bank NV [2020] UKSC 11 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Alaina Wadsworth and Sophie Newman, who both work within the insurance and reinsurance group at CMS, comment on the decision handed down by the UK Supreme Court last month in the matter of Aspen Underwriting Ltd and others v Credit Europe Bank NV [2020] UKSC 11.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 5th May 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

FCA warns banks not to put pressure on clients during Covid-19 crisis – The Guardian

‘The City watchdog is cracking down on UK banks that have been preying on corporate clients seeking financial help during the Covid-19 crisis.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 28th April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bitcoin: The Future of Money? – St Paul’s Chambers

‘Cryptocurrency: The Future of Money? Bitcoin is just one of many cryptocurrencies (internet currency). It’s not the first but it’s the first that works and the one that’s caught everyone’s attention. As with any currency comes regulation and in light of the rise of Bitcoin in recent years, it’s important to consult a Bitcoin lawyer if seeking advice in cryptocurrency law, regarding Bitcoin law.’

Full Story

St Paul's Chambers, 24th April 2020

Source: www.stpaulschambers.com