Chris Webber

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Chris Webber specializes in resolving financial services disputes and regulatory investigations. He represents clients including banks, broker dealers, corporate trustees, bondholders, issuers, mortgage servicers, borrowers, insolvency office-holders, regulatory bodies, investment funds, and individuals. He also acts for corporate clients in contractual, investment, and shareholder disputes.

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Bank did not breach duties in loan renegotiation

In December 2006, Mr Morley, a commercial property developer, entered into a £75m, three-year loan with Royal Bank of Scotland plc to refinance his property portfolio, add new properties to it and provide him with a “bonus payment” for his personal use. The bank secured the loan over his portfolio of 21 commercial properties in … Continue Reading

Authorised Push Payment Fraud – court rules on scope of banks’ obligations

In March 2018, Mrs Philipp transferred two payments to accounts in the UAE, totalling £700,000, representing her and her husband, Dr Philipp’s savings. In doing so, Mrs and Dr Philipp thought they were assisting an investigation by the FCA and National Crime Agency (“NCA”) into fraudulent activities. Unfortunately for the Philipp family, they were, in … Continue Reading

GameStopped? Regulators react to the “short squeeze”

While trading frenzies are as old as the markets themselves, the novelty of widespread retail trading in obscure US stocks fueled by Reddit chat forums has prompted recent interventions by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. Unfortunately the FCA’s terse 29 January statement on “recent share trading issues” gave little insight into how it … Continue Reading

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation – new ESG challenges for asset managers

What is SFDR? The SFDR is part of the European Commission’s package of reforms to implement its sustainable finance strategy. The strategy focuses on three areas: Strengthening the foundations for sustainable investment by creating an enabling framework. The Commission believes many financial (and non-financial) companies still focus excessively on short term financial performance instead of … Continue Reading

Cryptoasset update: FCA report shows increased usage as HM Treasury consults on expanded financial promotions requirements

The FCA has been increasingly interested in cryptoassets as their use in the UK has grown. In October 2018, the FCA published a joint report alongside the Bank of England and the Government as part of the UK Domestic Taskforce on Cryptoassets. In March 2019, the FCA commenced research into consumer attitudes and awareness of … Continue Reading

COVID-19 and the Courts

Whilst we all try to settle in to our new working from home routines, and maintain social distancing measures, the civil justice system is also having to find ways to adapt. Early messages from Court system that it would be ‘business as usual’ quickly proved impossible; but over the past week there have been procedures … Continue Reading

English Court of Appeal judgment recognises the importance of industry standard ISDA Master Agreement terms when challenged by a competing jurisdiction clause in a financing agreement

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that a jurisdiction clause that elects the English courts in an ISDA Master Agreement prevails when the underlying swap transaction forms part of a wider financing arrangement that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Turin courts: BNP Paribas SA v Trattamento Rifiuti Metropolitani SPA [2019] EWCA Civ 768.… Continue Reading

FCA hands out second large fine in as many weeks for transaction reporting failures

The Financial Conduct Authority has imposed a fine of £34,344,700 on Goldman Sachs International (“GSI”) for breaches of transaction reporting obligations. The fine comes just over a week after the FCA imposed a £27,599,400 fine against UBS (which we considered in an earlier blog post). Both fines result from breaches of obligations imposed by MiFID … Continue Reading

FCA puts the spotlight on debt management firms in second thematic review

In 2014 the FCA took over responsibility for regulation of consumer credit. In 2015 it conducted its first thematic review of the debt management sector, looking at commercial and not-for-profit firms that provide debt advice and administer debt management plans. The FCA’s goal was to improve outcomes for customers in what is perceived to be … Continue Reading

UBS fined £27.6m for transaction reporting failures

The Financial Conduct Authority has imposed a fine of £27,599,400 on UBS AG for breaches of transaction reporting obligations imposed by MiFID (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2004/39/EC), as well as a breach of Principle 3 of the FCA’s Principles of Business, which requires regulated firms to take reasonable care to organize and control … Continue Reading

HM Treasury advisory notice on money laundering and terrorist financing controls in high-risk jurisdictions

Overview HM Treasury published an updated advisory notice on money laundering and terrorist financing controls on 26 February 2019, identifying risk ratings and measures to be adopted by the UK regulated sector when dealing with high-risk countries. The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 require the UK … Continue Reading

FCA Releases Final Brexit Guidance to Financial Sector

Overview The Financial Conduct Authority published a policy statement on 28 February 2019 setting out near-final rules and guidance that will apply to financial services firms in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Most notable is the introduction of a 15-month ‘grace period’ for firms to comply with rule changes in the event of a … Continue Reading

Cryptoassets Taskforce: Report Indicates Path Forward for UK’s Cryptoasset and DLT Approach

In light of rapid developments in the market, the substantial potential of applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT), and growing evidence of the risks associated with cryptoassets; the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the Cryptoassets Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury (HMT), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE), in March 2018 as … Continue Reading

FCA takes steps to improve pension transfer advice

Safeguarding pensions and retirement income have been high on the FCA’s agenda for a while now. In the FCA Business Plan for 2018/19 it said: “We want to ensure that consumers are equipped to make good decisions to fund their retirement such as through appropriate advice or guidance, and can access good quality, value for … Continue Reading

FCA caseload at record levels despite dropping more cases than ever

The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) continues to see its caseload increase to record levels despite the fact that it is dropping more investigations than ever before. Recently published statistics reveal that in the year ending March 2018 a total of 208 investigations were ended compared to 115 in the previous year and 98 in 2015/16. … Continue Reading

Financial Action Task Force publishes report on professional money launderers

The Financial Task Force (FATF) has recently published a report that looks at the techniques and tools used by professional money launders (PMLs). This is the first time the FATF has undertaken a project which concentrates on PMLs that specialise in enabling criminals to evade anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing safeguards and sanctions in … Continue Reading

FCA’s Anti-Money Laundering Report highlights focus on firms’ financial crime controls

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its annual Anti-Money Laundering Report on 19 July 2018, for the year ended 31 March 2018. In the report, the FCA reminded firms that due to the size and global nature of the UK financial industry, financial crime and AML remains a significant risk and is therefore one of … Continue Reading
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