08/11/2014
HSF continues German growth
Herbert Smith Freehills announced today that it has recruited Dirk Hamann as a partner in Berlin.
Legal, Regulation & Compliance
08/11/2014
The Regulation of virtual currencies - A positive step undertaken by the EBA
The opinion represents the fruits of the EBA’s consultations with other European authorities
08/10/2014
Defeated bankers lose £6m bonus
Two ex-heads of Investec bank have lost multimillion pound bonuses they were allegedly promised.
08/10/2014
Tycoons sue fraudster over £1.5m gold scam
Two prominent businessmen are among a group of investors swindled out of £1.5 million by a convicted fraudster in a get-rich-quick bullion scam, it is claimed.
08/10/2014
The claws are out on bankers’ bonuses
UK regulators have put forward what they say are the world’s toughest rules on bankers’ pay.
08/10/2014
EU executive wants to beef up bloc's financial watchdogs
The European Union's trio of new financial watchdogs should have more powers over banks, insurers and markets to ensure national regulators apply EU rules
08/08/2014
Prosecutor set to decide on indictments in Deutsche Bank probe
Prosecutors are investigating whether co-Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen, his predecessors Josef Ackermann and Rolf Breuer, and others gave misleading evidence in the civil suit brought by heirs of late media magnate Leo Kirch, which ended in February af
08/08/2014
‘Shameless’ HSBC shuts Syrian refugees’ bank accounts in Britain
The letters claimed that the decision to terminate their accounts was based on the bank’s “own assessment of risk” and did not reflect the manner in which they conducted their business.
08/08/2014
FCA fines Stonebridge insurance firm 8.3 million pounds
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Stonebridge International Insurance Limited (Stonebridge) £8,373,600 in relation to sales of accident insurance products.
08/08/2014
European Commission Mulls Future of Insurance Industry Antitrust Exemption by Sidley Austin
Non-renewal of the Block Exemption Regulation – which seems a real possibility – would remove the safe harbor and force insurers and reinsurers to conduct individualized assessments of the types of cooperation at issue.
08/08/2014
Bank Capital Race Not Enough for Basel as Nordics Break Away
Capital isn’t the answer to everything
08/07/2014
Eversheds comment: UK PAC report concludes whistleblowers are not receiving adequate protection
The Report concludes that, in very many cases, employees do not know to whom they should report wrongdoing or malpractice in the workplace or, if they do so, that they are likely to face bullying and victimisation.
08/07/2014
Russia Drafts A Bill To Ban Bitcoin
The legality of bitcoin has been discussed frequently in Russia since the beginning of this year.
08/07/2014
FCA sets out its approach to financial promotions in social media
The FCA sees positive benefits from using social media but there has to be an element of compliance
08/07/2014
Leipzig entangled in web of financial products
The protagonist in this story is the town of Leipzig in the eastern German state of Saxony. Wanting to make a fast buck, town officials offered the publicly-owned waterworks in a deal with an American investor.
08/07/2014
Parabis finance director joins Kennedys
With Fiona joining us, three of our seven business services management team are women.
08/06/2014
ESMA releases responses to MiFIDII/MiFIR Consultation and Discussion papers
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has made public the responses it received to its Consultation and Discussion Papers on MiFID II/MiFIR.
08/06/2014
FCA restricts distribution of CoCos to retail investors
In the first use of new consumer protection powers, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will restrict firms from distributing contingent convertible securities (CoCos) to the mass retail market from 1 October 2014.
08/06/2014
Hungary c.bank fines 58 local credit institutions for unlawful services fee hikes
The central bank conducted an investigation to determine whether banks were acting in compliance with consumer protection regulations
08/06/2014
Ogier Legal advises on the launch of the €800 million Mid Europa Fund IV
Mid Europa Fund IV is a Guernsey authorised closed-ended investment scheme established primarily to make controlling investments in market leading companies in Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey (the Region).