The Retail Distribution Review is nearly upon us and it certainly has been a long time coming. Committed to helping advisers transition their business as efficiently as possible to whichever business model they have decided is best for them and their clients in the post-RDR world, Threadneedle have

Predicting the next mis-selling crisis has always been a difficult task and FSA have accepted that they will never achieve this. Instead, they are opting for a more aggressive and interventionist model which seeks to prevent major mis-selling scandals in the future.

In a welcomed decision for the derivatives market and the users of the ISDA Master Agreement, the English Court of Appeal recently handed down its judgment in four related cases including Lomas and others v JFB Firth Rixson Inc. Baker & McKenzie summarise the key points to take away.

From 1 January 2013, the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will require foreign financial institutions to enter into an agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service to send certain information on their US account holders. This briefing outlines in detail the impact of the new rules.

This in-depth article describes the key aspects of the Act, the scope of the offences, the ambit of the Act's extra-territorial reach, recent related case law and penalties, current enforcement trends (including plea-bargaining), and how to devise and implement an effective compliance programme.

Austria's financial authority recently amended the compliance regulation to introduce the concept of "compliance-relevant information". Schoenherr look in detail at the changes the ECV 2007 amendment brought; the circular on compliance rules; and the measures issuers and advisors will need to take.

As of 31 March 2012, certain non-US investment advisers will be required for the first time to be registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. DLA Piper outline the three main exemptions from registration and the implications of registration.

In January 2012, the FSA issued a discussion paper on the implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. This briefing from Bingham McCutchen sets out a summary of the principal issues affecting third country fund managers seeking to market funds within the European Union.

This detailed survey from Eversheds canvassed around 200 senior level decision-makers in the City to assess the current regulation the City is facing and examinines how the ongoing reform of the City's regulatory framework will impact on the UK's financial services sector.

The Independent Commission on Banking published its final recommendations on the reform of the UK banking system in September last year. Writing exclusively for Legal Week, Simmons' James Bresslaw outlines the UK Government's response to the ICB's recommendations for reform.