Regulation Tomorrow Podcast

In our latest Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcast, Matthew Gregory, Joe Bamford, Hishaam Khan and Anita Edwards discuss the first annual governing body report, and the governing body’s obligations with respect to it, under the FCA’s Consumer Duty rules. Firms are required to have prepared the report by 31 July 2024, and in this podcast we look at some of the steps firms should be taking to ensure they are ready for the upcoming deadline.

In the latest in our series of Global Regulation Tomorrow podcasts focusing on the future of asset management regulation in the UK, Claire Guilbert, Uzmah Yunis and Anita Edwards discuss the key practical points firms should be considering following the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent consultation on implementing the Overseas Funds Regime and subsequent developments.

In our latest Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcast we focus on the FCA’s finalised guidance on the new anti-greenwashing rule. We consider the scope of the new rule, the key differences between the finalised guidance and that consulted on, some “dos and don’ts” for firms and then finally a few words on a new anti-greenwashing tool that we have developed.

In our latest Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcast the financial services knowledge team – Simon Lovegrove, Anita Edwards and Catherine Pluck – provide a review of recent UK regulatory developments and share their thoughts as to what is on the horizon.

In our EMEA regulatory insights series colleagues from our EMEA offices provide an update on some of the key regulatory issues they are seeing in their local market. In this latest episode Matthew Shanahan, Karl Masi, Hasanali Pirbhai from our Dubai office discuss with Simon Lovegrove recent UAE regulatory developments including the UAE’s removal from the FATF grey list, recent Dear SEO letters, whistleblowing trends, the DFSA Annual Report, the DIFC Digital Assets Law and virtual asset trends in the UAE.

In our latest Global Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcast, Partner Jonathan Herbst and Of Counsel Uzmah Yunis share their thoughts on the FCA’s recent consultation paper on payment optionality for investment research. Mark Highman, a financial services partner in New York, also provides a US perspective.

In our latest edition of Regulation Around the World, we discuss the latest financial services regulatory developments concerning investment research in the UK and EU. We then consider the US regulatory regime for investment research and key issues for non-US firms.

In the second in our series of Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcasts on the FCA’s intervention in the motor finance sector, we take a detailed look at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)’s decisions upholding specific complaints in relation to historical discretionary commission arrangements. The decisions were one of the catalysts for the action the FCA is taking in the sector, and in this podcast we discuss the arguments presented by the firms to the FOS as well as the decisions reached by the FOS.

In our latest podcast, Partner Matthew Gregory is joined by Senior Associate Joe Bamford, both of whom specialise in retail conduct, to discuss the FCA’s consultation (CP23/24) on changes to the capital requirements for personal investment firms, with particular focus on how firms must calculate their potential redress liabilities for these purposes. The podcast also touches on how these changes may be seen as part of the FCA’s wider proposals and recent regulatory programmes – such as the Consumer Duty. The podcast aims to assist personal investment firms, and key internal stakeholders such as in house legal counsel and compliance officers, in understanding the FCA’s proposed changes under the consultation.

In the fifth podcast in our DE&I series, Simon Lovegrove, Hannah Meakin and Hannah McAslan-Schaaf are joined by Alasdair Scott from GP Strategies to discuss inclusivity, how well contributions, presence, and perspectives of different groups of people are valued and integrated into an environment. Inclusivity has become essential in business today with new joiners looking for a specific working culture, one that fosters respect, humility and caters to the requirements of a diverse workforce. For example, Glassdoor found that 76% of job seekers reported that an inclusive workplace is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. Also, inclusivity provides businesses with competitive advantage, in a 2023 McKinsey report it was found that organisations with parity in gender and ethnicity representation in senior roles saw profit levels 39% higher than their peers. The FCA and PRA both see the benefits of inclusivity and in their consultation proposals new measures are included for firms to report on a selection of inclusion metrics so as to provide a baseline of measurable data within financial services firms and across the sector.

In our EMEA regulatory insights series colleagues from our EMEA offices provide an update on some of the key regulatory issues they are seeing in their local market. In this latest episode Etelka Bogardi from our Hong Kong office discusses recent regulatory developments including derivatives reporting, the e-HKD Pilot Programme and Hong Kong Green Week – Finance Stream.

In this episode, we focus on fraud and specifically on key recent developments that banks and other financial sector firms should have on their radar as part of their risk management in this area.

Our podcast series Split the Difference explores divergence between the EU and UK regulatory regimes in the markets space. In the latest episode, Hannah Meakin, Anna Carrier, Georgia Karamani, Floortje Nagelkerke and Simon Lovegrove explore EMIR 3.0 and how the proposed new rules compare with the UK regime.

In the latest episode of our Decisions Decoded series, we discuss the key points from the Final Notice issued against Floris Huisamen, former director of London Capital & Finance plc (LCF), with the remit for Risk and Compliance. In terms of background to this decision, at the relevant time LCF’s business involved the raising of finance through the issuance of minibonds, which was then loaned to third-party corporate entities. The minibonds were sold predominantly to retail investors. LCF entered administration in January 2019. The firm had, however, already issued over 16,700 bonds, totalling over £237m. The effect of LCF’s collapse on investors was significant. In October 2023, LCF was publicly censured for its unfair and misleading financial promotions of the minibonds. In connection with this, Mr Huisamen has now been fined £31,800 and prohibited from performing any function in relation to any regulated activities.

In this episode, we focus on M&A and specifically on correspondent banking arrangements.

In our EMEA regulatory insights series colleagues from our EMEA offices provide an update on some of the key regulatory issues they are seeing in their local market. In this latest episode Michael Born from our Frankfurt office discuss recent German regulatory developments including the Financial Market Digitisation Act, the Credit Secondary Market Promotion Act, the Financial Crime Control Act and recent BaFin activity on ESG.

In this latest Regulation Tomorrow Plus podcast we consider the FCA’s recent intervention in the motor finance sector including the action that firms will need to take.

In our latest podcast, Senior Knowledge Lawyer Catherine Pluck is joined by Senior Associate Rebecca Dulieu and Associate Lizzie Cox, both of whom specialise in regulatory investigations and enforcement, to discuss reporting obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), in particular how to draft and submit good quality suspicious activity reports. The podcast aims to assist MLROs, nominated officers and other relevant functions, such as in house legal counsel and compliance officers, to fulfil their obligations under POCA.

In our EMEA regulatory insights series colleagues from our EMEA offices provide an update on some of the key regulatory issues they are seeing in their local market. In this latest episode Hannah Meakin and Matthew Gregory from our London office discuss recent UK regulatory developments including the UK’s proposed new retail disclosure regime, the advice boundary guidance review, ESG and the recent FCA policy statement setting out temporary changes to the handling rules for motor finance complaints.

In this episode, we focus on M&A and specifically on the No Creditor Worse Off (or NCWO) principle in the context of Bank M&A in a resolution scenario.