About Financial Services Law
It’s the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns that make Financial Services such a fascinating and challenging area of law. Advising clients in the here and now, or helping them plan ahead, how are you sure you haven’t missed something?
Financial Services Enforcement Database
Our Financial Services Enforcement Database includes hundreds of FCA, PRA and PSR enforcement actions. Searches can be filtered by multiple criteria such as rule breach, saving lawyers time and money.
FCA Consumer Duty
Our resources enable customers to stay updated with key developments. Materials include details on the rules and guidance, analysis, sectoral implications, a timeline, and checklists on key compliance issues.
Key developments and horizon scanning
Our current awareness offering includes daily, weekly and intraday alerts. We have a suite of comprehensive horizon scanners and timelines on many topics, enabling lawyers to stay on top of regulatory changes
Sustainable finance and ESG
Sustainable finance and ESG are becoming increasingly important for financial institutions and their lawyers. Our practical guidance, summaries, timelines and toolkits help practitioners navigate this complex area
Topics We Cover
Our Financial Services Experts
Dan Jones
Neil Jepson
James Henson
James Burnie
Guy Wilkes
Latest Financial Services News
Brexit paved the way for Britain to rip up the EU's financial services rule book and create a more UK-friendly regime—but some regulatory analysts say...
This week's edition of Financial Services weekly highlights includes: BoE addresses MREL framework in letter to HoL FSR Committee; ESMA releases new...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a portfolio letter to the claims management sector, setting out its updated view of harms and...
MLex: The UK’s financial services regulators are finding themselves in the government’s firing line. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has been clear...
Financial Services analysis: The High Court has ruled that a decision of the Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS’) relating to motor dealing and the...
Latest Financial Services Practice Notes
FSMA 2000—private rights of action for breach of statutory dutyThis Practice Note explains the private rights of action (PROA) under the Financial...
FATCA in the UK—the UK:US Intergovernmental Agreement: an outlineThis Practice Note provides a broad overview of:•the Intergovernmental Agreement...
Tax—FATCA trackerThis tax 'tracker' tool displays the current status of both US FATCA and UK FATCA intergovernmental agreements (IGA).The tracker is...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLRs)—essentials for financial servicesThis Practice Note considers the application of the Money Laundering,...
Register of overseas entities that hold UK property—fundamentalsThe register of overseas entities was launched on 1 August 2022.Overseas entities who...
Latest Financial Services Precedents
Limited partnership agreement—private fund limited partnershipThis limited partnership Agreement is made on [insert day and month] 20 [insert...
Environmental Targets for a Limited Partnership Agreement (Stella & Flora’s Clause) (The Chancery Lane Project)Additional/Amended Recital:[Name of...
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Model discretionary investment management agreementThe model discretionary investment management agreement can be found on the Investment...
Specimen Dealing CodeThis Precedent is a memorandum that sets out the details of the ‘specimen’ dealing code. The specimen dealing code is the product...
Latest Financial Services Q&As
Featured Financial Services content
The Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)
The Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)This Practice Note provides information on the role of the nominated officer and the Money Laundering...
Financial Conduct Authority—Principles for Businesses (PRIN)
Financial Conduct Authority—Principles for Businesses (PRIN)This Practice Note explains the Principles for Businesses (PRIN) set down by the Financial...
Second charge mortgage regime
Second charge mortgage regimeSecond charge mortgages definedA regulated second charge mortgage is a loan secured on a borrower’s property that is used...
Financial Conduct Authority—objectives and principles
Financial Conduct Authority—objectives and principlesThe role of the FCAThe Financial Conduct authority (FCA) forms part of the regulatory structure...
Accepting deposits
Accepting depositsBackground to the regulated activity of accepting depositsUnder section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA...
What is electronic money?
What is electronic money?BREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period...
Fund management—Cayman Islands—Q&A guide
Fund management—Cayman Islands—Q&A guideThis Practice Note contains a jurisdiction-specific Q&A guide to fund management in Cayman Islands published...
Insurance conduct regulation—COBS and ICOBS
Insurance conduct regulation—COBS and ICOBSBREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit...
Non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS)
Non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS)This Practice Note explores non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS) and comments on investment powers, new rules on NURS...
Complying with the collective investment schemes sourcebook (COLL)
Complying with the collective investment schemes sourcebook (COLL)The Financial Conduct Authority’s Collective Investment Schemes Sourcebook (COLL) is...
Different types of short selling
Different types of short sellingShort selling: the two key typesRegulation (EU) 236/2012 (OJ L 86/1) (the EU Short Selling Regulation) came into force...
Where a lender is required to send notices of sums in arrears on a fixed sum loan under section 86B of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) and the customer clears the arrears but leaves default sums outstanding, is the lender required to keep sending subsequent notices of sums in arrears under CCA 1974, s 86B(5)(b)?
What are regulated activities?
What are regulated activities?Under the general prohibition a person cannot carry out a regulated activity, or purport to carry out a regulated...
Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs)
Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs)BREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit...
Regulated activities relating to dormant assets
Regulated activities relating to dormant assetsBackground to regulated activities relating to handling dormant assetsUnder section 19 of the Financial...
UK regulation of payment services providers—essentials
UK regulation of payment services providers—essentialsScope of this Practice NoteThe Payment Services Regulations 2017, SI 2017/752 (PSRs 2017)...
Unregulated collective investment schemes—essentials
Unregulated collective investment schemes—essentialsWhat are unregulated collective investment schemes?In the UK, an unregulated collective investment...
Complaints handling by financial services firms
Complaints handling by financial services firmsCORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): The FCA has issued a statement setting out its expectations on complaints...
Associated legal terms
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
This is an Act of Parliament which created the Financial Services Authority as the single statutory regulator of financial services in the United Kingdom.
Investments
A product specified in the FSA Regulated Activities Order.
Unit trust (UT)
A UT is a CIS under which trustees hold assets on trust for unitholders, except that it does not include a contractual scheme (section 237 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000)). The trustees hold legal title to the fund’s assets but are legally obliged to apply the assets for the benefit of the unitholders. A fund manager will then provide investment advice to the trustees. UTs are mainly used as investment fund vehicles. For tax purposes, UTs can be categorised as: • unauthorised unit trusts (UUT): a UT that has not been authorised under FSMA 2000 • authorised unit trusts (AUTs): a UT that is authorised under FSMA 2000, s 243 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
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