What is an attestation? The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) may request an attestation from a firm where they are concerned about (or investigating) an actual or potential breach of regulatory requirements. Broadly speaking, an attestation is a request from the regulator to an individual at a regulated firm (usually a member of management who is also a Senior Manager) that they provide a signed, written confirmation of the firm’s compliance with regulatory requirements in relation to a particular aspect of the business. The FCA may also use attestations as a routine supervisory tool—for instance, it requires that all firms provide an annual attestation that their information on the Financial Services Register is accurate (see Practice Note: The Financial Services Register). The PRA also uses attestations as a routine supervisory tool (generally using standard forms), although it has stated that it can require attestations as to compliance with specific regulatory requirements on an ad hoc basis. As discussed below, it has

This Practice Note looks at the status and use of confidential information in civil proceedings including what confidential information is, how to protect confidential information and how confidentiality may be lost. It considers disclosure obligations in relation to confidential material, ways of protecting confidential material from disclosure, inspection and being referred to in open court, disclosure of confidential material for limited purposes, confidentiality rings, relying on confidential and covertly obtained information, receiving confidential material by mistake and the tension with other jurisdictions’ disclosure rules. What is confidential information? Information considered to be confidential includes: • personal (or private) information • trade secrets • journalistic, artistic or literary confidences • government secrets • court-ordered settlement agreements requiring non-disclosure • information specifically identified by contract as restricted • password-protected email accounts • documents produced as part of the relationship between a solicitor and client (Anderson v Bank of British Columbia). Note, however that, although all privileged material must be confidential, not all confidential information is privileged. For more information on legal professional privilege, see

STOP PRESS: As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in force. Procurements begun on or after this date must be carried out under PA 2023, whereas those begun under the previous legislation (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) must continue to be procured and managed under that legislation. See Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. PCR 2015 as assimilated law PCR 2015 are EU-derived domestic legislation and therefore assimilated law under sections 2 and 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For practical guidance on the status and interpretation of assimilated law, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. There are basically two types of consultants that are used in public procurement: • consultants with technical knowledge of what is being procured (such as architects, surveyors, IT specialists, etc) and who are used generally to: ◦ help write the

Borrowers often hedge against the following risks in the context of a lending transaction: • interest rate risk by entering into an interest rate swap • exchange rate risk by entering into a currency swap, and • commodity price risk by entering into a commodity swap Such swaps are typically entered into by a borrower with a bank, known as the hedging bank or hedging counterparty. The hedging bank is in a better position than the borrower to take the risk of fluctuations in interest rates, exchange rates or commodity prices. Often, the hedging bank will hedge its own exposure under the swap through a back-to-back swap with a market counterparty. This Practice Note explains the key documentation issues to consider when hedging risks in a lending context. For more information generally on using derivatives in a lending context, see Practice Note: Use of derivatives to hedge against risk in a lending context. Hedging bank and lending bank When a borrower enters into a swap to hedge risks under

The most common reasons for entering into derivatives are for the purposes of: • speculation—where a party wishes to gain exposure to a particular variable, eg speculating on the future price of a commodity in the belief that it is about to go up or down • hedging—where a party wishes to cover its exposure to the risk of an adverse movement in a variable • arbitrage—where a party wishes to exploit a difference in price (on different markets or on the same market over time) to either make a profit or reduce its costs or where one party has access to a price or market that another party cannot access, or • exposure to asset classes—where a party wishes to gain exposure to a particular market (eg commodities, shares, property) without the costs, complications and formalities associated with those markets Derivatives are often entered into in connection with lending transactions for the purposes of hedging. The ultimate aim of entering into a derivative transaction in this

Many individuals have international connections that need to be considered when advising on succession planning. For example, they may have been born outside England and Wales or have acquired assets in foreign jurisdictions. These connections are likely to change over time and so it is essential to review the position regularly and particularly if the individual’s circumstances change. For information on foreign jurisdictions, see the Foreign jurisdictions—overview and International Q&A guides—Private Client—overview sub-topics. The International Comparator Tool may also be useful in comparing legal regimes across two or more jurisdictions. Separate Wills in various jurisdictions It has been traditional to advise clients to execute a separate Will in each jurisdiction in which assets are held to avoid practical problems of having to wait for the proving process in another jurisdiction to be completed and to avoid the necessity for notarised translations and difficulties over Affidavits of Law. However, this may not be the best advice in all circumstances. When advising clients, a number of key questions should be asked of a client including: • Where is it wished to establish

STOP PRESS: The Loan Market Association (LMA) has published updated versions of the standard terms and conditions for Par and Distressed Trade Transactions, the full suite of Funded Participation and Risk Participation Agreements and the Secondary Debt Trading Documentation User Guide; taking effect from 17 March 2026. The amendments include the removal of LIBOR references, revisions to IBOR rate definitions and the Target2 definition and updated ERISA representations incorporating additional exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules under ERISA and the US Internal Revenue Code. The updated documentation is available to LMA members only, on the LMA’s Documentation Hub. Is loan trading on the secondary market a regulated activity? The UK position The use of information in the secondary debt market for loans in the UK is somewhat undefined. The UK regulatory regime regulates firms that provide services to clients linked to ‘financial instruments’ and the markets where those instruments are traded. Loans are not regarded as constituting

Aircraft are high value assets, prone to damage and capable of causing destruction. Appropriate insurance coverage is a vital concern for financiers and the contents of the policies and their legal effect is an area where more attention is required than may be the case in other types of asset finance. This Practice Note considers insurances in a situation where an aircraft owner, as lessor, is leasing an aircraft to an airline as lessee. Where an aircraft has been financed by a bank or other lender, the issues identified as relevant to a lessor in this Practice Note will also be relevant to the aircraft financier. This is because in many aircraft finance structures, the financier will typically take security over the rights of the lessor against the lessee under the lease. The nature of insurance contracts A contract of insurance is a contract of indemnity for loss arising as a consequence of a specified peril (eg the loss caused by the damage or destruction of the insured asset). The contract is constituted

Insurance plays an important role in trade and commodity finance transactions. While many of the risks inherent in financing trade can be mitigated through effective structuring, including taking security where necessary, insurance provides an additional layer of protection for a financier. For example, security taken over goods that have been financed will be worthless to a financier if some of those goods are damaged or destroyed. Taking out appropriate insurance to protect against the risk of damage or destruction of the goods will protect the financier’s position if such risk should occur. Additionally, a financial institution might take out insurance in respect of the risk of default by an obligor in order to obtain capital relief in respect of its exposure, or to enable it to finance transactions that might otherwise be prohibited by internal obligor or country limits. Insurance protection is a matter that should be considered at the outset of a transaction during the structuring phase. Questions to be considered include: • what type of risks can, and should, be covered,

Disclosure in the DPA negotiation process One of the factors in the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) negotiation process, which can influence a company’s chances of avoiding a prosecution, is co-operation. This is set out in the DPA Code of Practice (DPA Code) at paragraph 2.8.2 and emphasised by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in its Coporate Guidance, see further Practice Notes: Corporate co-operation guidance for organisations seeking a DPA and DPA process. For more information, see Practice Note: DPAs in practice—Co-operation—the most important factor? What co-operation means in these circumstances has been a subject of significant comment, judicial and otherwise, see, for example, Practice Notes: DPAs in practice—What constitutes ‘co-operation’—examples from the DPAs to date? and Privilege in DPA negotiations. What is clear is that co-operation includes disclosing, as part of a self-report and during any negotiations for a DPA, matters which the authorities would otherwise not be aware of, material which might otherwise not have come into existence, or material which may be subject to legal professional privilege (LPP).

IP analysis: This analysis considers the recent decision of the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court in the dispute between the artist Tal Rosenzweig (Tal R) and the luxury watch company, Kanske Denmark ApS. The case deals with a perennial issue in the art world of the legal distinction between using another's artwork to create a new, non-infringing original work and an unauthorised, infringing copy or adaptation. Kenneth Mullen and Eleni Polycarpou, partners at Withers LLP, consider some of the issues of the case.

In Singapore Airlines Ltd v Buck Consultants Ltd, the High Court dismissed a claim of negligence against an adviser regarding amendments to the wording of an employer's pension scheme and held that fluctuating emoluments were included as earnings for the purpose of the rules governing the original deed.