Breaking up is hard to do

Remember the Financial Services and Markets Bill (1998) which was designed to address "the fragmented structure which has developed for the regulation of financial services, with its unsatisfactory division of responsibility between several regulators"? Who was it who said that "this major package of financial reforms provides the solid foundations of a regulatory system that will last well into the 21st Century"? Well obviously not the current Chancellor, who was not even born when Neil Sedaka went to the top of the charts with "Breaking Up is Hard to Do". Much has changed in only 10 years since the creation of the Financial Services Authority. Although few would now seek to broadcast the benefits of this "world class" regulatory system, it would be unfortunate if the considerable advances in financial services regulation achieved under the aegis of a single regulator were to be lost in the system of creative regulatory tension proposed in the Treasury paper "A New Approach to Financial Regulation" published in July. Read on

Being made an example of: FSA penalties and the need for consistency

2010 is on course for becoming a record year for record fines. In May, the FSA fined former stockbroker Simon Eagle £2.8 million for market abuse. In June, JP Morgan received a record £33 million fine for failing to properly segregate large sums of client money. In August, Zurich was fined £2.3 million for data security failings, again the largest fine of its kind. In September, Goldman Sachs was fined £17.5m for failing to comply with its regulatory reporting obligations. Read on

Cold-shouldering and the power of Victoriana

On 14 July 2010, the Takeover Appeal Board dismissed an appeal against a decision of the Hearings Committee to publish a "cold-shouldering" statement in respect of three individuals. The last time that such a Victorian sounding statement was published was in 1992. Read on

FSA revises Remuneration Code

In July 2010, the FSA began consultation on revisions to its Remuneration Code and published a Draft Code containing 12 new Remuneration Principles. Much of the change implements amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive ("CRD3") which come into effect on 1 January 2011. Read on

Notable Recent Cases

Members of Chambers have broad experience in banking and financial services including an extensive regulatory practice. They are regularly instructed both for and against a variety of financial and other regulatory authorities, corporations and individuals. Read on