HC 204 - Conduct and Competition in SME Lending
HC 204 - Conduct and Competition in SME Lending

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Treasury Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 0215084101

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Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) form a large part of the UK economy. According to official statistics, there were 5.243 million private sector businesses at the start of 2014. 5.236 million had 0-250 employees and are classed as SMEs, of which 5.204 million had fewer than 50 employees and are classed as small businesses. SMEs account for 60 per cent of all private sector employment, and registered an annual turnover of £1.6 trillion at the start of 2014-47 per cent of the private sector total. A large majority of SMEs are sole traders-76% of all businesses are non-employers. The Government believes that access to finance for SMEs is 'key to the recovery and long term growth of the economy'. Research by National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) in 2009 found that the '6 per cent of UK businesses generated half of the new jobs created by existing businesses between 2002 and 2008. This report offers a number conclusions and recommendations covering: the state of the SME lending market; RBS Global Restructuring Group (GRG); mis-sale of Hedging Products; and alternative finance

Reforming Corporate Retail Investor Protection
Reforming Corporate Retail Investor Protection

Author: Diane Bugeja

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1509925880

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The spate of mis-selling episodes that have plagued the financial services industries in recent years has caused widespread detriment to investors. Notwithstanding numerous regulatory interventions, curtailing the incidence of poor investment advice remains a challenge for regulators, particularly because these measures are taken in a 'fire-fighting' fashion without adequate consideration being given to the root causes of mis-selling. Against this backdrop, this book focuses on the sale of complex investment products to corporate retail investors by drawing upon the widespread mis-selling of interest rate hedging products (IRHP) in the UK and beyond. It brings to the fore the relatively understudied field concerning the different degrees of investor protection mechanisms applicable to individual retail investors – as opposed to corporate retail investors – by taking stock of past regulatory reforms and forthcoming regulatory initiatives as well as, more importantly, the conclusions reached by the judiciary in IRHP mis-selling claims. The conclusions are particularly interesting: corporate retail investors are in a vulnerable position when compared to individual retail investors. The former are exposed to a heightened risk of mis-selling, meaning that regulatory intervention should be targeted accordingly. The recommendations made as a result of these findings are further supported by insights emerging from behavioural law and economic theories. This book is aimed at researchers, lawyers and students with an interest in the financial regulation field who are keen to explore potential regulatory reforms to the investment services regime that address the root causes of mis-selling, and restore a level playing field amongst all retail investors.

HC 881 - Press Briefing of the FCA's Business Plan for 2014/15
HC 881 - Press Briefing of the FCA's Business Plan for 2014/15

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Treasury Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 87

ISBN-13: 0215084357

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On the evening of 27 March 2014, the Daily Telegraph published an article on its website describing a forthcoming thematic review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) into the life insurance market. The same story appeared in the print edition of the Telegraph the following day. The story, based on an advance briefing given by the FCA to the Telegraph earlier that week, gave a misleading impression of the scope of the life insurance review, and was published before the FCA had made any official announcement of its own. When the markets opened on 28 March, the share prices of several leading life insurers began to fall heavily. Only when the FCA published a clarifying statement about the scope of the review - several hours later that day - did share prices begin to recover. On the day following the publication of the Telegraph article, the Chairman of this Committee called for a "full and transparent explanation about how such an apparently serious mistake came to be made by our financial services watchdog--the body appointed by Parliament to enforce high standards of conduct". Simon Davis, Partner at Clifford Chance LLP, was subsequently appointed to conduct an investigation, and reported his findings in December 2014. The Committee records its thanks to Mr Davis for undertaking this work and for the evidence he gave to it.

Bandit Capitalism
Bandit Capitalism

Author: Bob Wylie

Publisher: Birlinn

Published: 2020-11-11

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 1788852605

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“Comparable with Michael Lewis’ The Big Short or indeed Ian Fraser’s Shredded, Bob Wylie has done a forensic job . . . a powerful book.” —Talk Media Podcast The collapse in January 2018 of the construction giant Carillion, outsourcer of huge Government building contracts, is one of the great financial scandals of modern times. When it folded it had only £29 million in the bank and debts and other liabilities adding up to a staggering £7 billion. When the total losses were counted it was established that the banks were owed £1.3 billion in loans and that there was a hole in the pension fund of £2.6 billion. That left British taxpayers picking up the tab to salvage the pensions owed to Carillion workers. On one level, this is a familiar story of directors who systematically looted a company with the aim of their own enrichment. But in a wider context the Carillion catastrophe exposes everything that is wrong about the state we are in now—the free-for-all of company laws which govern directors’ dealings, the toothless regulators, the crime and very little punishment of the Big Four auditors, and a government which is a prisoner of a broken model born of a political ideology which it cannot forsake. Through the story of Carillion, Bob Wylie exposes the lawlessness of contemporary capitalism that is facilitated by hapless politicians, and gives a warning for the future that must be heeded. Bandit Capitalism charts, in jaw-dropping detail, the rise and rise of the British Oligarchy. “An excoriating book on the corruption that can lurk within contemporary capitalism.” —Financial Times, “Best Books of 2020”

The Principles of Personal Property Law
The Principles of Personal Property Law

Author: Duncan Sheehan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 633

ISBN-13: 1509901337

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The law of personal property covers a very wide spectrum of scenarios and, unfortunately, has had little detailed scrutiny of its overarching structure over the years. It is a system and can best be understood as a system. Indeed, without understanding it as a system, it becomes much more difficult to comprehend. The second edition of this acclaimed textbook continues to provide a comprehensive yet detailed coverage of the law of personal property in England and Wales. It includes transfer of legal title to chattels, the nemo dat rule, negotiable instruments and assignment of choses in action. It also looks at defective transfers of property and the resulting proprietary claims, including those contingent on tracing, the tort of conversion, bailment and security interests. By bringing together areas often scattered throughout company law, commercial law, trusts and tort textbooks, it enables readers to see common themes and issues and to make otherwise impossible generalisations across different contexts about the nature of the concepts English law applies. Throughout the book, concepts are explained rigorously, with reference to how they are used in commercial practice and everyday life. The new edition also includes a new chapter on secured transactions law reform, and introduces new material on the Cape Town Convention, IP rights and other intangible property. The book will be of primary interest to academics and practitioners in the area. However, it will also be of use to students studying commercial or personal property law.

Corporate Insolvency Law
Corporate Insolvency Law

Author: Vanessa Finch

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-10-19

Total Pages: 839

ISBN-13: 1108292925

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This new edition of Corporate Insolvency Law builds on the unique and influential analytical framework established in previous editions - which outlines the values to be served by insolvency law and the need for it to further corporate as well as broader social ends. Examining insolvency law in the fast-evolving commercial world, the third edition covers the host of new laws, policies and practices that have emerged in response to the fresh corporate and financial environments of the post-2008 crisis era. This third edition includes a new chapter on the growing issue of cross border insolvency and deals with a host of recent developments, notably; the consolidation of the rescue culture in the UK, the rise of the pre-packaged administration, and the substantial replacement of administrative receivership with administration. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, professionals and academics, Corporate Insolvency Law offers an organised basis for rising to the challenges of an ever-shifting area of the law.

Modern Studies in Property Law, Volume 10
Modern Studies in Property Law, Volume 10

Author: Ben McFarlane

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-05-30

Total Pages: 626

ISBN-13: 1509921389

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This book contains a collection of papers presented at the Twelfth Biennial Modern Studies in Property Law Conference held at University College London in April 2018. The conference and its published proceedings are an established forum for property lawyers from around the world to showcase the latest research. This collection includes a keynote address by Dame Elizabeth Gloster, former Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), on technology in property law. It also includes plenary addresses by Professor Henry Smith on the architecture of property law and the challenge of compiling the American Law Institute's Fourth Restatement of Property, and by Her Honour Judge Karen Walden-Smith on the role of the first instance judge in property cases. Sixteen further chapters address a wide range of issues, including the theory and taxonomy of land law, the re-evaluation of land obligations, the nature and operation of equitable property rights and shares, the role of property in commerce, comparative approaches to leases and trusts, and contemporary issues in land registration. Collectively, the chapters demonstrate the vibrancy, diversity and importance of property law and of current research in the subject.

A new approach to financial regulation
A new approach to financial regulation

Author: Great Britain. Treasury

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-02-17

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 9780101801225

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This document presents more detailed proposals for financial regulation following on from the consultation paper "A new approach to financial regulation: judgment, focus and stability" (July 2010, Cm. 7874, ISBN 9780101787420) and continuing policy development by the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority. The Government's reforms focus on three key institutional changes. First, a new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) will be established in the Bank of England, with responsibility for 'macro-prudential' regulation, or regulation of stability and resilience of the financial system as a whole. Second, 'micro-prudential' (firm-specific) regulation of financial institutions that manage significant risks on their balance sheets will be carried out by an operationally independent subsidiary of the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Thirdly, responsibility for conduct of business regulation will be transferred to a new specialist regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Individual chapters cover: Bank of England and Financial Policy Committee; Prudential Regulation Authority; Financial Conduct Authority; regulatory process and co-ordination; compensation, dispute resolution and financial education; European and international issues; next steps; how to respond; impact assessment. The chapters contain significant detail on how the legislative framework will be constructed in order to deliver the Governments' priorities for the framework. The Government will consult on these proposals with a view to publishing a draft bill in spring 2011.

Land Law
Land Law

Author: Ben McFarlane

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 0198831870

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Authoritative, analytical, and concise, McFarlane, Hopkins and Nield's Land Law provides succinct coverage on the core areas without sacrificing depth or detail. The authors' unique approach to land law arms students with the tools to apply an independent, critical thought process to the content covered in classes and assessments.