Professional and financial risks
Money 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).
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 11 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 morePension Trustee Liability: Apportioning Responsibility Between Professional and Member Trustees
A recent decision of The Pension Ombudsman (TPO) sets out the duties of independent trustees in Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) and in particular their duties towards investment due diligence. The decision also looks at the split in responsibility between a member trustee and a professional trustee.
Read moreCourt confirms vicarious liability does not apply to LPA receivers
In an appeal, the High Court considered whether an employer of LPA receivers can be held vicariously liable for the actions of receivers during receivership – the High Court, upholding the lower decision on a strike out application, found that the employer was not liable.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 4 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 moreLawyers Covered: March 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 moreTooling v Engie: a glimpse into the future of the motor finance litigation?
On 21 March 2025, the Court of Appeal handed down an expedited judgment in Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd v Engie Power Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 292, a case which, like one of the three linked motor finance cases due to be heard at the Supreme Court this week (Johnson v FirstRand Bank Limited), dealt with 'half secret' commissions. In Tooling the Court of Appeal took the opportunity to expand upon and further explain some of its reasoning in Johnson.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 28 March 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreFRC to back growth in a new three-year plan – impacting auditors, actuaries, and D&Os
FRC to Back Growth in a New Three-Year Plan – impacting auditors, actuaries, and D&Os The FRC has published its Strategy for 2025-2028 and its Annual Business Plan and Budget for 2025-2026, following a period of consultation and engagement with stakeholders. There are some key messages alongside the Strategy, Plan and Budget, with the FRC emphasising an intention to support UK economic growth and investment whilst serving the public interest through "smart, targeted and proportionate" regulation. The three-year strategy and annual budget allow the FRC to set out interim objectives whilst they prepare for the Government's draft legislation to modernise its statutory powers and ensure that they are fit for purpose.
Read moreVehicle Finance Redress Scheme seems to be down the road
In what could be the final chapter in the long running (or driving) vehicle finance saga, the FCA has announced that it is likely to consult on a redress scheme following the Supreme Court's anticipated decision in Jonson v FirstRand Bank Limited
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was - 28 February 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
Read moreSRA unlimited fining powers
The biggest development in solicitors' regulation in 2025 is undoubtedly the SRA's new approach to financial penalties. For the first time in history, the SRA will wield unlimited fining powers, and it proposes to use them in a way which could transform the financial consequences of regulatory breaches.
Read moreMoney Covered: The Week That Was – 14 February 2025
Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.
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