Financial Regulation

We are regularly at the forefront in advising Financial Institutions on areas of particular contemporary interest; for example, we are closely involved in advising a number of clients on a range of issues arising out of the credit crunch, including providing ongoing advice to HM Treasury in connection with the Government's measures to support the Financial sector.

We have also been active in advising clients on the significant recent changes in the FSA approach to regulation, in particular its recent move from principles-based regulation to more intrusive supervision, "Treating Customers Fairly" and its copy-out approach to the implementation of EU Directives. All of these developments have, in different ways, created new difficulties for regulated firms, with significant reductions in the amount of formal guidance available from the FSA, so our role has become increasingly important.

We closely monitor other ongoing initiatives affecting the financial services industry including international projects such as the ongoing development of the Basel Capital Accord and various European developments including the Capital Requirements Directive ("CRD"), the reviews and potential reform of MiFID, the Market Abuse Directive and the CRD, the Payment Services Directive and the proposed Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.

Additionally, we take an active role in the development of relevant law and regulation. For example, we seconded lawyers from Slaughter and May to HM Treasury to assist with the development of the Financial Services and Markets Act and now regularly second lawyers to the FSA to assist with the development of its policy and rules, in particular arising out of European developments such as MiFID and Solvency II. We consider the practical implications of these developments for the regulated businesses of our clients and take an active role in assisting clients to review and respond to such developments as well as participating directly in Treasury and FSA consultations.

We are represented in a number of groups which lobby the Government for legislative change where necessary. Such groups include the Law Society Financial Services Working Party, the City of London Law Society Regulatory Law Committee Banking and Insurance Sub-Committees and several ISDA taskforces and committees. Ruth Fox is a member of the Financial Markets Law Committee of the Bank of England.