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WBD advise on part VII transfer of Arch Insurance EEA business

04 Jan 2021

WBD has advised on the Part VII transfer to Arch Insurance (EU) dac of insurance business carried on by Arch Insurance (UK) Limited (excluding inwards reinsurance business) within the European Economic Area. This took effect on 31 December 2020, following the receipt of sanction from the High Court on 18 December 2020.

2020: the year of COVID and Brexit - what has it meant for financial crime prevention?

22 Dec 2020

The end of 2020 is finally within sight, and what a strange year it has been. In terms of financial crime prevention, 2020 has been a mixture of continuing to deal with known issues and progressing improvements, but against the backdrop of Brexit and a pandemic. In this year's review for Financial Regulation International, Emma Radmore of Womble Bond Dickinson looks back on the key legal and regulatory priorities for the UK authorities and the year's relevant enforcement actions. As usual, we then look at initiatives that will be progressing over 2021.

WBD advises Resonance on £20m homelessness social investment property fund

09 Dec 2020

WBD has advised leading social impact investment company Resonance on the launch of its new homelessness property fund, to help tackle homelessness.

European Central Bank issues bad loan warning

07 Dec 2020

The European Central Bank (ECB) published a Dear CEO letter on Friday 4 December warning the region's biggest lenders that many of them are failing to do enough to prepare for the anticipated hike in bad loans as an outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Navigating financial regulation in 2021

24 Nov 2020

Finally, the transition period will end on 31 December 2020, and, at the time of writing, negotiations between the UK and EU give no indication that they will be anything other than standard "third countries" to each other from 2021 – albeit third countries with very similar legislation.

GMP equalisation – transfers out

24 Nov 2020

Judgment in the supplementary Lloyds Bank case was handed down on 20 November 2020, providing some clarification as to the actions which must be taken by trustees of defined benefit pension schemes to address unequal guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) where that GMP was transferred between occupational pension schemes.

Negative interest rates – pay day for borrowers?

13 Oct 2020

The Bank of England has written to UK banks to ask if they would be ready if interest rates were cut to zero or turned negative. Back in March, the Bank of England reduced its Base Rate to 0.1%, its lowest ever level, in order to help reduce borrowing costs as COVID-19 tightened its grip on the UK economy. In May, the Governor of the Bank of England paved the way for negative interest rates and lenders began contingency planning for this. But does that mean borrowers will soon receive interest on what they've borrowed? The answer might not be what you'd expect…

Spotlight thrown onto imaging orders – Court of Appeal issues warning shot

08 Oct 2020

With advances in forensic tools, it has become increasingly common for courts to grant imaging orders (in support of search orders) for the quick and comprehensive preservation of electronically stored data on hard drives, laptops, etc. An advantage of imaging orders is that they allow the search process to be far less intrusive and disruptive for the business/premises that are being searched. On the other hand, a disadvantage is that the imaging process does not discriminate between documents that pertain to the issues of the proceedings and are covered by the search orders from documents that are irrelevant and/or privileged.

Financial regulation: getting back to "normal"?

14 Sep 2020

COVID-19 has now been interrupting almost every aspect of work and life for so long, it's hard to remember what "normal" is. Or, maybe more accurately, what normal was. The summer holidays have ended, the furlough scheme is beginning to wind down, every effort has been made to have schools able to open and stay open, and the Government is encouraging people to get back to work. But what does this actually mean for the financial services industry?

Brexit and exhaustion of rights

10 Aug 2020

Parallel trade is the import (and export) of genuine goods protected by intellectual property ("IP") rights, and occurs where the IP rights are said to have been 'exhausted' – where the goods are put on the relevant market by, or with the consent of, the IP-right owner.

Related insights: Financial Institutions

WBD advise on part VII transfer of Arch Insurance EEA business

2020: the year of COVID and Brexit - what has it meant for financial crime prevention?

WBD advises Resonance on £20m homelessness social investment property fund

European Central Bank issues bad loan warning

Navigating financial regulation in 2021

GMP equalisation – transfers out

Negative interest rates – pay day for borrowers?

Spotlight thrown onto imaging orders – Court of Appeal issues warning shot

Financial regulation: getting back to "normal"?

Brexit and exhaustion of rights

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Related insights: Financial Institutions

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