The English Court has now made a clear ruling; “I consider that cryptoassets such as Bitcoin are property“, Bryan J concludes in his judgment in AA v Persons Unknown. The Court has granted another interim injunction over Bitcoin, this time held in an account of a cryptocurrency exchange after it had been transferred to the exchange … Continue Reading
Debbie Gupta, FCA Director of Life Insurance and Financial Advice Supervision, spoke at a conference last week about how financial advisers might improve the suitability of their advice to clients and at the same time reduce the risk of client complaints (or at least improve the chances of successfully defending them).… Continue Reading
The FCA has now published its Final Guidance on Cryptoassets (PS19/22), setting out the FCA’s position on how cryptoassets fit within the current regulatory perimeter. The Guidance does not change the scope of regulation of cryptoassets by the FCA, but does provide useful and practical insight into how the regime applies in the cryptoasset sphere … Continue Reading
In a report published last week, the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee (“Committee“) recommended that the FCA should be given more powers to help it address the consumer harm occurring in the “grey area” that sits just outside the FCA’s perimeter of regulation. … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has just published its Business Plan for 2019/20, setting out its strategic objectives and priorities for the year ahead.… Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has published a consultation paper (“Guidance”) providing guidance on the regulation of cryptoasset activities.… Continue Reading
After a relatively quiet year for fines in 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA“) has already published two Final Notices this week confirming the first fines of 2019 that total over £79 million.… Continue Reading
The Court of Appeal in Elite Property Holdings Limited, Decolace Properties Limited v Barclays Bank Plc [2018] EWCA Civ 1688 considered the appellants’ Application for permission to appeal against the Mercantile Court Judge’s decision to strike out part of the Appellants claims against the Respondent Bank. Whilst the application concerned permission to appeal, this was the first occassion on which … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs’ London office will be welcoming over 100 legal and compliance professionals from a range of banks and financial institutions next week for a major financial crime and regulatory risk conference. We are hosting the event for the leading industry forum, MLROs.com. There will be a full programme of speakers covering a wide range of topics including: … Continue Reading
The FCA’s Business Plan for 2017/18 identified cyber risk as a cross sector priority for the FCA. In keeping with the FCA’s drive to encourage firms to acknowledge, confront and manage cyber risk, at the PIMFA Financial Crime Conference on 25 January 2018, Robin Jones (Head of Technology, Resilience & Cyber, FCA) delivered a warning that along … Continue Reading
It was reported last week that the Financial Reporting Council (the “FRC”), which oversees the UK’s accounting industry, has more than tripled the size of its enforcement team over the past five years. The FRC’s principle role is to regulate auditors, accountants and actuaries with its work aimed at investors and others who rely on … Continue Reading
Background As mentioned in our blog posted on 20 September 2016, MasterCard was facing one of the UK’s first class-action lawsuits, following the introduction of collective proceedings under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This allows for collective proceedings to be brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) on an opt-out basis, by representatives of consumers … Continue Reading
Background Our previous blog piece (20 September 2016) described how, in 2007, the EU found that MasterCard’s Multilateral Interchange Fees (“MIFs“) were unfairly high. This decision was applicable to cross-border transactions using MasterCard and Maestro cards in the European Economic Area (“EEA“). The finding was that Mastercard’s MIF breached Article 101 of the Treaty on the … Continue Reading
On 1 February 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority released a policy statement that the regulators say is aimed at strengthening the transparency and effectiveness of their enforcement and decision-making processes. This policy statement follows on from an earlier Treasury review in these areas.… Continue Reading
The Yorkshire Post has reported that Andrew Bailey, CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority, is working with Parliament to develop an adequate and independent complaint resolution for SMEs who believe that they have been badly advised or “mis-sold” a product by a financial institution. Mr Bailey notes that the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) exists predominantly … Continue Reading
Class Actions in the UK Class actions have long been a feature of the US legal landscape. But until October 2015 there was no genuine “class action” procedure in the UK. Then the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (“CRA“) introduced collective proceedings that can be brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT“) by representatives of consumers … Continue Reading
