Banking & Finance Summer Update
Welcome to the Banking and Finance Summer e-shot. The UK’s financial institutions continue to face very challenging times; in this e-shot we assess those difficulties as well as highlighting the latest developments in the FSA's mortgage market review. We share an exclusive commentary on the current situation in the Financial Markets from City commentator and Chief Economist Brendan Brown. We are delighted to introduce Brett Farrell, who joined us in June from Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International plc part of the MUFG Group, and is a specialist Technology Lawyer. Peter Sisson
Partner
Banking & Finance Department | 
Brett joins Barlow Robbins LLP from Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International plc (MUSI) where he worked as a capital markets solicitor. Brett advises on all aspects of technology and media law.
We have noticed six themes emerging out of the legal advice we give to the financial services technology sector: 
July saw another lender hit the news for levying what the FSA described as excessive fees on the accounts of customers who fell into arrears. The FSA’s interventionist stance on arrears fees is bolstered by its proposed amendments to MCOB 12 to address poor practice in arrears charges.
K/S Lincoln and others v CB Richard Ellis Hotels Ltd [2010] EWHC 1156 (TCC) confirms that a judge must analyse a valuer’s liability by reference to the final valuation figure and not by his methodology. K/S Lincoln is interesting because it confirms that a valuer will not be negligent if he values a property within a permissible margin of error, even if he fell below the standard of a reasonable valuer in the methodology he used in reaching the valuation. 
The CML forecasts continued subdued lending levels (CML forecast summary 12 August) due in no small part to the fact that funding for lenders will continue to be hard to come by. The Bank of England’s recent Financial Stability Report (“FSR”) estimates that the financial sector has around £800 billion of wholesale assets to refinance over the next 30 months.
