United Kingdom: Finance and Banking

The Prudential Regulation Authority has unveiled proposals for a new UK captive insurance regime designed to boost competitiveness and provide businesses with greater flexibility in managing risk. The consultation paper outlines a bespoke framework with lower capital requirements, faster authorisation processes, and simplified governance structures compared to Solvency UK.

Market participants employ four main credit risk transfer structures—bank-issued CLNs, SPV-issued CLNs, credit default swaps, and participation interests—each carrying distinct risk, regulatory, and funding profiles that require careful evaluation. Asset managers must navigate critical considerations including due diligence protocols, credit event definitions, and recovery rights to optimize returns. Recent Basel 3 re-proposals in the U.S. and regulatory developments in the E.U. and U.K. are res

The Financial Conduct Authority has published comprehensive final rules establishing an end-to-end regulatory framework for cryptoasset firms in the UK, marking one of the largest extensions of the FCA's regulatory reach in recent memory. With authorisation requirements taking effect in October 2027 and a critical application window opening in September 2026, firms operating in the cryptoasset space face significant compliance obligations including financial resilience requirements, market integrity provisi

When someone dies the task of administering the estate usually falls to their grieving friends and relatives. Often the people who knew the deceased are the people best placed to act as their executors. But sometimes things go wrong, money disappears, decisions are made that should never have been made, and by the time beneficiaries realise the full picture, the estate has suffered losses that may be significant.

The decision indicates that the minority creditors intend to bring a claim against the security trustee and majority creditors, in which they will seek to unwind an out-of-court restructuring

The Bank of England (Bank) has published its long‑awaited policy statement on sterling-denominated stablecoins and a draft Code of Practice for sterling‑denominated systemic stablecoin issuers...

The Court of Appeal has partially reversed a High Court decision in a case examining whether a chargee's appointment of administrators was invalid due to improper purpose, specifically where debt acquisition followed a failed takeover bid. The judgment clarifies the boundaries of Braganza-style rationality duties in secured lending enforcement and explores when the equitable 'proper purpose' doctrine may constrain a creditor's right to appoint administrators under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

Scotland's Moveable Transactions Act 2023 has fundamentally transformed security enforcement and insolvency procedures by introducing statutory pledges and assignations. How do these new fixed security regimes expand practical enforcement options beyond traditional administration, and what boundary issues will insolvency practitioners need to navigate as secured creditor rights evolve?

The decision illustrates the margin of discretion afforded to lenders to include provisions to defend their legitimate interest in repayment.

The UK government plans to give the Bank of England a new secondary objective focused on supporting innovation in payment systems and emerging digital money forms. This regulatory shift aims to balance technological advancement with financial stability, extending the Bank's existing innovation mandate from CCPs and CSDs to systemic payment systems, including those using stablecoins.

The decision illustrates the court’s approach to valuing distressed participation interests where the contractual documentation does not prescribe a valuation methodology.

The UK Consumer Composite Investments (“CCI”) regime introduces a new disclosure framework for investment products made available to UK retail investors.