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In Mylcrist Builders Limited v. Mrs G Buck [2008] EWHC 2172 (TCC) an important issue arose in respect of an arbitration clause in a construction contract between Mylcrist and Buck. One issue was the correct appointment of an arbitrator. The clause did not provide the mechanism for the appointment of an arbitrator and, accordingly, under s.16(3) Arbitration Act 1996, the parties were to jointly appoint an arbitrator. …
Read More UK: Court Refuses to Enforce Arbitration Award Against Consumer

Three weeks after the federal government seized control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae – the two biggest mortgage companies in the United States – news reports indicate that on September 26, 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each received federal grand jury subpoenas from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. …
Read More Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Receive Federal Grand Jury Subpoenas

In Elektrim SA (In Bankruptcy) v Vivendi Universal (& Ors) [2008] EWHC 2155 (Comm) the claimant and defendant companies had entered into an investment agreement governed by Polish law, which contained an arbitration clause providing for arbitration in London. It was common ground that unlike the rest of the investment agreement , the arbitration agreement was governed by English law. …
Read More UK: English High Court Rules on Law Applicable to the Effects of an EU Insolvency Proceeding on Pending Lawsuits

The FSA has fined British bank Alliance & Leicester plc (A&L) a record £7 million over regulatory failings relating to telephone sales of payment protection insurance (PPI) to customers seeking personal loans. 

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Read More UK: FSA fines Alliance & Leicester a Record £7 Million Over Failings in Sales of Payment Protection Insurance

Since 2005, the FSA has been carrying out a thematic review of the sale of PPI, the principal aim of which is for firms to improve their sales standards. The third phase of the FSA’s thematic review on PPI involved a mystery shopping exercise in respect of face to face sales of PPI alongside unsecured personal loans. 

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Read More UK: Financial Services Authority (FSA) Provides an Update on the Third Phase of its Thematic Review of the Sale of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a consultation paper discussing revisions to the maximum limits of compensation payable by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS covers deposits, life and general insurance, investment business, and home finance mediation. …
Read More UK: FSA Publishes CP 08/15 Reviewing Financial Services Compensation Scheme Maximum Limits

Further sections of the Companies Act 2006 came into force on 1 October 2008. One of the provisions implemented, by virtue of the Companies Act 2006 (Commencement No 5 Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2007, was the repeal of the restrictions on financial assistance by a private company or any of its private subsidiaries for the acquisition of the company’s shares (including, as a consequence, the statutory “whitewash” procedure). …
Read More Companies Act 2006: Repeal of the Financial Assistance Prohibition from 1 October 2008

The Director of the FSA’s Treating Customers Fairly initiative (TCF) has given a speech on firms’ progress toward meeting the December 2008 deadline for implementation, showing that while advances have been made, much work still needs to be done. …
Read More UK: FSA Update on Progress Toward December Deadline for Treating Customers Fairly

The FSA has recently issued a DP in preparation for Solvency II. Entitled “Insurance risk management: The path to Solvency II”, the DP explains key elements of the Solvency II regime and identifies areas that UK insurers should be considering over the next 18 months to prepare for implementation in 2012. 

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Read More UK/EU: FSA Issues Discussion Paper (DP) on Solvency II