Professional and financial risks
Money Covered: The Week That Was – 10 October 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreFinal destination – FCA publishes proposals for motor finance consumer redress scheme
After a long and tortuous process, covering pauses to complaint handling timeframes, FOS decisions, judicial reviews and Supreme Court decisions, the FCA has finally published its consultation paper ("the Consultation ") on a motor finance Consumer Redress scheme ("the Scheme") under s.404 of FSMA. The sums at stake (£8.2 billion) are considerably lower than some of the eye watering previous estimates but the potential exposure is still significant. The deadline for comments is 18 November.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 3 October 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreFOS Complaints Newsletter - September 2025
Welcome to the FOS complaints quarterly newsletter. In this second of our quarterly FOS complaints newsletters we look at recent developments which have already impacted, or are likely to impact, future developments and trends.
Read moreLawyers Covered - September 2025
It can be tough for busy lawyers to find enough time to service clients, make it safely through the regulation obstacle course, win new work and keep up-to-date with developments, but we've got you covered! Welcome to our September 2025 edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we highlight the last month's key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.
Read moreAccess to justice or consumer harm? The SRA targets risks in bulk claims
In August 2025, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) concluded its thematic review of the high-volume consumer claims sector against a backdrop of mounting concerns over consumer risk.
Read moreThe Pensions Regulator: a prudential approach to enforcement?
In recognition of the evolving pensions landscape, on 16 September 2025, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) issued a consultation regarding the proposed changes to its enforcement strategy (the Consultation). The Consultation contains 10 questions tailored around TPR's new proposed strategy and welcomes responses by 11 November 2025. The developments will be of interest to PTL insurers in particular.
Read moreClarifying Trustees' Duties: The Pensions Ombudsman's Determination on Statutory Transfers
On 26 August 2025, the Pensions Ombudsman (POS) issued a significant determination that goes some way to clarifying the duties of pension scheme trustees for pre-2021 statutory transfers from occupational pension schemes.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 19 September 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreGovernment tables amendments to address Virgin Media fallout
In June, we reported on the Government's intention to legislate in response to the judgment handed down in Virgin Media Limited v NTL Pension Trustees II Limited [EWCA Civ 843]. On 1 September 2025 the government tabled amendments to the draft Pension Schemes Bill (the Bill) setting out how trustees can retrospectively validate historic amendments that would otherwise have been deemed void following Virgin Media.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 12 September 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 5 September 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 29 August 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreLawyers Covered - August 2025
It can be tough for busy lawyers to find enough time to service clients, make it safely through the regulation obstacle course, win new work and keep up-to-date with developments, but we've got you covered! Welcome to our August 2025 edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we highlight the last month's key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.
Read moreFighting the Tide – The Pension Ombudsman's Operating Model Review
It has been a busy year for The Pensions Ombudsman. For the last five years the service has seen referral volumes outpace capacity with record levels of referrals in 2024/25 (as noted in our blog yesterday). In order to meet the joint challenges of workload and funding, The Pensions Ombudsman is relying upon changes to its Operational Model, introduced in 2023. What are those changes and what's the likely impact?
Read moreFrom Reactive to Proactive: The Pensions Ombudsman's Corporate Strategy
On 30 July The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) published its three-year strategy and corporate plan which proposes to address the significant rise in pension related complaints and deliver a more responsive, accessible and effective service.
Read moreQuality at The Core - The FRC's Shift From Inspections to Systems
On 13 August 2025, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a discussion paper launching the second phase of engagement on its Future Audit Supervision Strategy (FASS).
Read moreSwings and Roundabouts for Pension Administrators
The shift of responsibility to personal representatives and/or beneficiaries of a deceased's estate does not, however, mean that pension administrators can take a back seat. It is anticipated that the implementation of the new IHT charge will result in circa £60m in one-off costs to businesses (and, in particular, administrators) through the adoption of new internal policies and procedures, training, and IT systems to ensure compliance with the new legislation when it comes into force in April 2027. Pension administrators will need to ensure that they are in a position to provide accurate valuations of inherited pension funds quickly, as the proposed legislation requires this to be provided within 4 weeks of being notified of a member's death. They will also be required to inform non-exempt beneficiaries that they may be liable for IHT and otherwise work with personal representatives/ beneficiaries closely to ensure accurate information is provided to HMRC. The government states that it is committed to supporting businesses and individuals impacted by the changes and HMRC is due to publish guidance as well as a calculator to assist in determining whether IHT is payable at all. Despite the promised support, preparing for this change will no doubt be a significant undertaking for pension administrators and professional personal representatives. Whilst the government has confirmed that certain benefits will remain out of the scope of IHT (i.e., death-in-service benefits and defined benefit dependents' pensions), the full scope of its application is otherwise very broad, and all defined contribution pension pots and defined benefit lump sum death benefits will be within the scope of the new regime. Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief will not be available for pension inheritance, though the spouse/civil partner exemptions and charity exemptions will still apply. Government figures suggest the extension of IHT to unused pension funds and death benefits will raise an additional £640m in the 2027/28 tax year, increasing to an additional £1.4bn in revenue in the 2029/30 tax year. Despite the reduced burden for pension professionals in the new announcement, there will be those who do not think that the government has gone far enough in reducing that burden and there is speculation that similar revenue increases could have been achieved by other means. In particular, it has been highlighted that whilst only a small number of estates will see an increased IHT bill, many more than that will face increased complexity in the administration of estates, a particularly difficult pill to swallow when those impacted will already be navigating a bereavement.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 8 August 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreThe Supreme Court puts the brakes on motor finance claims, but a degree of risk remains
In what will be a welcome judgment for both lenders and motor finance brokers, the Supreme Court has ruled that a fiduciary duty did not apply to the relationship between borrowers and their finance broker in three conjoined appeals concerning vehicle purchases. The Claimants were therefore not entitled to a return of the commission paid on the basis of bribery/dishonest assistance allegations. However, with the FCA announcing the intention to put in place a consumer redress scheme, there are likely to be questions about the fairness of such relationships under the Consumer Credit Act and potential FCA Handbook breaches under CONC.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was - 1 August 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreLawyers Covered - July 2025
It can be tough for busy lawyers to find enough time to service clients, make it safely through the regulation obstacle course, win new work and keep up-to-date with developments, but we've got you covered! Welcome to our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we highlight the last month's key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 25 July 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreReasonable Diligence – when is it enough to postpone limitation?
In this blog we consider the outcome of Arif v Sanger [2025] EWHC 1540 (KB) and the potential repercussions for directors in cases of possible fraud, deliberate concealment and misrepresentation under s.32 of the Limitation Act 1980 where reasonable diligence is not exercised.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was - 18 July 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreFCA and FOS jointly consult on modernising redress system
The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") have jointly published a consultation paper on their proposals to modernise the financial redress system.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was - 11 July 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreCourt of Appeal slams brakes on judicial review as Supreme Court accelerates in motor finance saga
As the Court of Appeal slams the brakes on Barclays' judicial review of a FOS decision upholding a vehicle finance complaint, all eyes are on the Supreme Court as they prepare to hand down judgement this month in the case of Johnson v FirstRand Bank which is primed to have a multibillion-pound impact on the vehicle finance market.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was - 4 July 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreLawyers Covered - June 2025
It can be tough for busy lawyers to find enough time to service clients, make it safely through the regulation obstacle course, win new work and keep up-to-date with developments, but we've got you covered! Welcome to our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we highlight the last month's key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.
Read moreRegulatory Pulse - 26 June 2025
Bringing you up to speed on developments in solicitors' regulation every fortnight.
Read moreThe Month that Was – May/June 2025 – a look at Employment Practices Liability Insurance and its relationship to D&O
In this episode, Mel is joined by Kim Wright and Matt Watson to discuss Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance, its scope, and its intersection with Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance.
Read moreFCA considers motor finance redress scheme
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its key considerations in anticipation of a possible motor finance redress scheme pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Limited.
Read moreGovernment to introduce legislation to allow for Section 37 issues arising from Virgin Media v NTL Trustees to be addressed retrospectively
The Government has announced plans to introduce legislation to give pension schemes the ability to retrospectively obtain written actuarial confirmation that historic benefit changes met necessary standards at the time. This will provide welcome relief following the case of Virgin Media v NTL Trustees Limited, which rendered otherwise effective amendments void in the absence of an actuarial confirmation. The announcement will provide significant comfort to contracted out pension schemes that made amendments between 1997 to 2016 and cannot locate actuarial confirmation as required from the time of the changes. We look back at the issues arising from the Virgin Media v NTL Trustees decisions, consider the impact the cases had on the industry and what the government's announcement means.
Read moreFRC overhauls Investor Stewardship Code for 2026
On 3 June 2025, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published the UK Stewardship Code 2026 that will take effect from 1 January 2026.
Read moreFOS to consult on interest - Is 8% too high?
On 4 June 2025 the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) opened a consultation into the standard interest applied to its awards which has historically been applied at 8%.
Read moreRegulatory Pulse - 6 June 2025
Bringing you up to speed on developments in solicitors' regulation every fortnight.
Read moreLawyers Covered - May 2025
It can be tough for busy lawyers to find enough time to service clients, make it safely through the regulation obstacle course, win new work and keep up-to-date with developments, but we've got you covered! Welcome to our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we highlight the last month's key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 30 May 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 23 May 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreQ1 2025 insolvency claims activity – a word of warning for D&Os and their insurers?
The latest data on the number of winding up petitions in the Insolvency and Companies Court provide insights on the recent increase in insolvencies and offers a hint as to the sectors that may be impacted most by claims against the former directors of insolvent companies.
Read moreRegulatory Pulse - 19 May 2025
Phew, it's been a busy couple of weeks! Let's bring you up to speed.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 16 May 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 9 May 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreRegulatory Pulse - 9 May 2025
Welcome to the second edition of RPC Pulse. A concise look at regulatory developments for solicitors, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
Read moreLawyers Covered - April 2025
It can be tough for busy lawyers to find enough time to service clients, make it safely through the regulation obstacle course, win new work and keep up-to-date with developments, but we've got you covered! Welcome to our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we highlight the last month's key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 25 April 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreRegulatory Pulse - 24 April 2025
Welcome to the first edition of RPC Pulse. A concise look at regulatory developments for solicitors, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 17 April 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreSupreme Court upholds that fiduciaries must act with "single-minded loyalty toward their principals (or beneficiaries)"
In Rukhadze and others v Recovery Partners GP Ltd and another [2025] UKSC 10, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the legal test for the account of profits rule (the Profit Rule).
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