03/24/2014
Guernsey And AIFMD: Offering The Best Of Both Worlds
Fiona Le Poidevin explains why Guernsey provides an excellent platform for AIFMD compliant investments in Europe with all the options available to a financial centre outside the EU.
Legal, Regulation & Compliance
03/24/2014
FCA tells hedge fund giants to show integrity
Hedge funds manage $470 billion in the UK, with 82% of the assets controlled by just 20 large firms
03/24/2014
EU adds further 12 names to Russia and Crimea sanctions list - Harneys
Subsequently Russia completed its annexation of Crimea and the European Union issued further sanctions against more Russian and Crimean politicians and officials by supplementing CFSP 145 and Regulation 269 (under new Council Decision 2014/151/CFSP and Co
03/24/2014
Prosecutors search German law firm in Deutsche Bank-Kirch case
German state prosecutors have searched the Frankfurt offices of law firm Hengeler Mueller in connection with Deutsche Bank's 12-year legal battle with the heirs of media mogul Leo Kirch
03/24/2014
Fidelity lobbies FCA for exit charge ban
Execution-only platform Fidelity Personal Investing is calling for an outright ban on exit fees from all long-term savings products, and has promised to refund customers hit by the fees who move to its platform.
03/24/2014
Ambassador sued for hiding his wealth
Three officials are sued over an alleged concealment of their wealth by the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets.
03/23/2014
Sunday newspaper round-up: Life insurers, energy companies, supermarkets
The chief executives of some of Britain’s biggest life insurers have asked regulators to intervene after the Chancellor’s announcement of dramatic changes to the pensions market
03/21/2014
EU leaders reach deal to complete banking union
Under new rules, troubled banks could be dealt with in a weekend instead of more protracted process
03/21/2014
Deutsche Bank fails to end 4 U.S. lawsuits over soured mortgages
Deutsche Bank countered that buybacks were the only remedy, and that HSBC failed to identify which loans were covered
03/21/2014
Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members Of The Russian Leadership’s Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement In The Situation In Ukraine
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control today designated sixteen Russian government officials, members of the Russian leadership’s inner circle, including a Russian bank pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13661,
03/20/2014
Russian Hacker Accused Of Raiding Swiss Banks Arrested In Bangkok
Farid ‘Diabl0’ Essebar, one of the creators of the Zotob worm, evaded the authorities for the last three years, and is accused of causing $4 billion worth of damage
03/20/2014
Spain’s Rescued Banks Seen Facing Claims on $4 Billion Debts
Arbitrators appointed by the Spanish government are considering claims that might leave rescued lenders Bankia SA, NCG Banco and Catalunya Banc liable to pay compensation to individual investors who bought as much as 3.1 billion euros of junior debt.
03/20/2014
PRA sets out draft approach to UK insurers' technical provisions and internal models under Solvency II regime
The UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is consulting on proposals which would apply to general insurers under key aspects of the EU's Solvency II regulatory regime.
03/19/2014
ECB watchdog tells Europe to prepare to shut 'zombie' banks
Euro zone countries must prepare to shut their failing "zombie" banks and quickly pool the money to do it
03/19/2014
IBRC seeks documents from Dubai firms linked to Quinn family
Companies deny role in the alleged conspiracy to move assets beyond the bank’s reach
03/19/2014
Bankers sidestepping bonus cap face regulator action: EU’s Barnier
Bankers who sidestep a cap on their bonuses will face action from the European Union’s banking regulator
03/19/2014
RBS weighs £4bn share settlement over rights issue legal battle
The Royal Bank of Scotland is considering whether to pay out £4 billion in shares to settle a legal battle with shareholders.
03/19/2014
Baker & McKenzie hires former RPC regulatory head
Baker & McKenzie is to be joined in its London financial services group by RPC’s former head of financial services and regulatory Steven Francis.
03/19/2014
Jail, but No $7B Payment, for French Rogue Trader
France's highest court upheld a prison sentence for a one-time rogue trader convicted of carrying out one of the biggest trading frauds in history, but threw out the 4.9 billion euros ($7 billion) in civil damages he'd been ordered to pay back.
03/18/2014
FCA and Bank of England agree Memorandum of Understanding for supervision of markets and market infrastructure
The Financial Services Act 2012 introduced an obligation to review this MoU annually. The FCA and Bank committed that this review would include feedback from industry and the findings would be published.