05/31/2012
Spain court drops tax probe of Santander chairman
The court said the probe showed the Botin family had normalized its tax situation before the investigation was opened last year.
Legal, Regulation & Compliance
05/31/2012
Solicitor wins libel action against millionaire who accused him of charging thousands in fees while playing golf by posting offensive notes on his Range Rover
A solicitor wrongly accused by a millionaire client of charging him £300 an hour for legal work whilst playing golf has won an apology and substantial damages after succeeding in his libel action.
05/31/2012
Commerzbank appeal on bonus case refused
The High Court judge ruled earlier this month ruled in favour of the of the 104 former Dresdner Kleinwort bankers who sought a legal battle with Commerzbank over unpaid guaranteed bonuses that had been promised to them shortly before the investment bank w
05/31/2012
FSA fines South Queensferry financial adviser £60,000
The fine was imposed on Patrick Francis O'Donnell of P3 Wealth Management by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
05/30/2012
Investment charges: Will they become clearer?
This will replace a previous, similar calculation, known as the total expense ratio (TER).
05/30/2012
Germany's SPD Drafts Wealth Tax Bill
Wealth tax was abolished in Germany back in 1997.
05/30/2012
Bakers secures South Africa launch with hire of 31-strong Dewey team
Baker & McKenzie has launched in South Africa with the hire of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s 31-strong Johannesburg office, one of the disintegrating firm’s last remaining international bases.
05/30/2012
FSA fines Scottish wealth manager £60k for Ucis mis-selling
He advised 57 of his customers to invest in UCIS, 14 of whom also invested in other non-mainstream investments.
05/29/2012
Sir Malcolm Williamson steps down as chair of Clydesdale Bank
He is also chairman of National Australia Group Europe, which owns the Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank brands, and will retire from both positions on 26 July.
05/29/2012
FSA bans stockbroker for ‘reckless misconduct’
The regulator says Leavey was carrying out a significant influence function without FSA approval, failing to oversee the segregation and protection of client money and approving misleading financial promotions.
05/29/2012
Lack of raids by Serious Fraud Office questioned
Based on search warrant applications, the SFO conducted no raids for the year to 31 March, compared to 47 in the previous year.
05/29/2012
Barclays hits back against tax scheme claims
The government took the unusual step of introducing retrospective legislation.
05/29/2012
Court cuts jail sentence of ex-Bank of Italy boss
A lower Italian court had initially sentenced Fazio to four years but that verdict was eased because some of the charges had lapsed due to the statute of limitations.
05/29/2012
UK tells banks to display deposit protection rules
The regulator said the move is part of a long-term initiative to improve battered public confidence in banks.
05/29/2012
FSA bans and fines hedge fund CEO £3 million
The City regulator is seeking to impose a lifetime ban and a £3m fine on the manager of a $550m hedge fund for allegedly lying to investors in the months leading up to the fund’s 2009 collapse.
05/29/2012
UK firms prepare applications as Singapore announces new QFLP licences
The government of Singapore is inviting more foreign law firms to apply for Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licences and will start accepting applications from 1 July.
05/28/2012
Former security chief at Lloyds Banking Group faces fraud charges
A former head of fraud at Lloyds Banking Group has herself been charged with a £2.5m fraud, causing blushes at the part-nationalised bank.
05/28/2012
Tax could cost UBS up to 10 percent of Europe assets
Zeltner said UBS had assets under management of over 300 billion francs in Europe, over 170 billion francs in Asia, around 110 billion francs in emerging markets and 130 billion in Switzerland.
05/28/2012
US groups have a head start in UK post RDR
In the US, a gradual shift away from a commission model for advice started about two decades ago, triggered in part by brokers – employing financial advisers – keen to gain steady fee revenues rather than commissions on individual transactions
05/28/2012
FSA 'powerless' over JP Morgan
Because JP Morgan's businesses are branches, UK authorities have only limited powers to act, with almost all authority resting with US watchdogs located more than 3,000 miles and several time zones away.