Despite numerous warnings from the FCA that “firms shouldn’t be relying on…a “synthetic” US dollar LIBOR as we have given for sterling and yen” (see speech by the FCA’s Edwin Schooling Latter on 8 December 2021), last week the regulator confirmed that it would allow market participants to do just that. In this blog post, … Read more

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal in a case which provides important clarification around the scope and construction of contractual provisions obliging the parties to act in good faith: Re Compound Photonics Group Ltd; Faulkner v Vollin Holdings Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1371. Although set in a non-financial context, the decision will be of … Read more

The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision of the High Court to strike out a claim by the former shareholders of a dissolved company against an investor on the basis that all the losses claimed were barred by the reflective loss principle: Burnford & Ors v Automobile Association Developments Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1943. … Read more

The Court of Appeal has held that the identity of those instructing lawyers on behalf of a corporate client are not generally protected by litigation privilege: Loreley Financing (Jersey) No 30 Ltd v Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) [2022] EWCA Civ 1484. The court rejected the notion that litigation privilege protects all information falling within a “zone of … Read more

The High Court has summarily determined that a bank’s default notice of an event of default to an energy company, for failure to pay monies due under a foreign exchange (FX) swap, was valid under the terms of the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement governing the transaction: Macquarie Bank Limited v Phelan Energy Group Limited [2022] … Read more

In the context of a trade finance dispute, the High Court has considered the contractual interpretation of an irrevocable letter of credit incorporating the commonly used code in the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits 600 (UCP 600), published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).  In particular, the court held that the issuer’s … Read more

The High Court has allowed a summary judgment application by an Italian bank seeking declarations to the effect that certain interest rate swaps entered into with an Italian municipal authority were valid, lawful and binding on the parties: Dexia Crediop SPA v Provincia Di Pesaro E Urbino [2022] EWHC 2410 (Comm). This is an interesting … Read more

In October 2022, the Advertising Standards Authority (the ASA) ruled for the first time that a bank had misrepresented its green credentials and engaged in so-called “greenwashing“. In this blog post, we consider how banks and financial services institutions can fall within the remit of the ASA’s advertising codes and the potential risks associated with … Read more