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
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Latest Financial Services News
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final report on the 2023–2024 Common Supervisory Action (CSA), conducted in...
The three European Supervisory Authorities (the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the...
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published policy statement PS10/25, confirming its final policy on regulated fees and levies for the...
Law360, London: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that payment services companies displayed inadequate risk management in every case...
Law360, London: A UK tribunal issued a judgment on 27 June 2025 siding with merchants seeking damages from Visa and Mastercard for claims they were...
Latest Financial Services Practice Notes
The joint venture agreementPrincipal documentsThe principal documents required for a corporate joint venture are:•the articles of association...
Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI) in the UK—fundsFORTHCOMING CHANGES: The UK is due to implement the OECD’s Cryptoasset Reporting Framework...
OFSI General Licence trackerThis Practice Note tracks General Licences issued by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) under the UK...
Sanctions—reporting obligationsThis Practice Note sets out reporting obligations under key UK sanctions regimes and other reporting requirements...
Safeguarding and administering investmentsDefinitionSafeguarding and administering investments (commonly known as 'custody') is a regulated activity...
Latest Financial Services Precedents
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Unsecured employee loan agreement—company and employee—short-formThis Agreement is made on [insert date]Parties1[insert name of employee borrower], of...
Sustainability glossary terms (The Chancery Lane Project)These Precedent sustainability definitions, produced by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as...
Environmental Targets for a Limited Partnership Agreement (Stella & Flora’s Clause) (The Chancery Lane Project)This clause consists of amendments and...
Joint and several liability clause1Joint and several liability[Except for clauses [insert],] the liabilities and obligations of [insert names of...
Latest Financial Services Q&As
Featured Financial Services content
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...
CMA identifies Monzo's breaches of Retail Banking Market Investigation Order and secures agreement for corrective action
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has identified several breaches by Monzo Bank Limited (Monzo) of the Retail Banking Market Investigation...
Insurance conduct regulation—COBS and ICOBS
Insurance conduct regulation—COBS and ICOBSThe Financial Conduct Authority Handbook (FCA Handbook) includes sourcebooks to regulate the conduct of...
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...
FCA client money rules
FCA client money rulesBREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period...
Non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS)
Non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS)This Practice Note explores non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS) and comments on investment powers, key investor information...
Introduction to the UK AML/CTF/CPF legal and regulatory framework for financial services
Introduction to the UK AML/CTF/CPF legal and regulatory framework for financial servicesThis Practice Note provides a detailed introduction to the...
Debt sale and purchase agreements
Debt sale and purchase agreementsThe debt sale and purchase market is an important way for lenders and debt sellers to reduce balance sheet liability....
Consumer Credit Act 1974—early settlement
Consumer Credit Act 1974—early settlementIntroduction to early settlementBorrowers are entitled, at any time, to bring regulated agreements to an end....
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)?
FCA Handbook—introduction
FCA Handbook—introductionBREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period...
Unregulated collective investment schemes—essentials
Unregulated collective investment schemes—essentialsWhat are unregulated collective investment schemes?In the UK, an unregulated collective investment...
Credit limits
Credit limitsThis Practice Note provides an overview of the rules that apply to credit limits. A borrower will be set a credit limit on the maximum...
Consumer credit agreements—pre-contract requirements
Consumer credit agreements—pre-contract requirementsBREXIT: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 (‘IP completion day’) marked the end of the Brexit...
What are regulated activities?
What are regulated activities?Scope of this Practice NoteThis Practice Note explains what constitutes regulated activities under the UK regulatory...
MiFID and non-MiFID business
MiFID and non-MiFID businessThis Practice Note summarises what MiFID business is as the term is defined in the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)...
Part VII Transfer of Banking Business
Part VII Transfer of Banking BusinessBackgroundAs noted in Practice Note: Insurance business transfer schemes, a regime for transferring portfolios of...
Financial Services Act 2012 [Archived]
Financial Services Act 2012The Financial Services Act 2012 (FSA 2012) received Royal Assent on 19 December 2012 and went into effect on 1 April 2013....
Associated legal terms
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules
The Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook containing the Disclosure Guidance given in the Financial Conduct Authority Handbook and contained within DTR 1-3. The DTRs also include:
• the Transparency rules relating to the notification and dissemination of information in respect of issuers of transferable securities and relating to major shareholdings.
• Corporate Governance Rules (DTR 1B, 4 and 7) for the purpose of implementing or dealing with matters regarding any EU law obligation relating to the corporate governance of issuers who have requested or approved admission to trading of their securities and about corporate governance in relation to such issuers for the purpose of implementing, or dealing with matters regarding any EU law obligation.
• rules relating to primary information providers. When considering this term in the context of financial services, reference should be made to the FCA Handbook glossary definition of DTR.
Part XX exemption
An exemption which enables professional firms regulated by designated professional bodies to carry on exempt regulated activities.
UCITS management company
A management company as defined in Article 2(1)(b) of the UCITS Directive (Directive 2009/65/EC).
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