Introduction 1
Ⅰ. THE GENERAL CONTEXT 11
1. Why Legal Risk is Important: a Short History 13
2. Risk and Capital 19
3. Legal Risk in the London Market 27
4. The Global Context 33
5. The Lawmaker, the Regulator, and Current Preoccupations 39
Ⅱ. THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2007-2009 51
6. Market and Regulatory Failure 53
A. Casinos and Utilities 54
B. The Origins of the Crisis 57
C. 'Originate and Distribute' 65
D. Credit Rating Agencies 67
7. The Initial Impact of the Crisis on Financial Markets 71
A. The Seize-up of the Inter-bank Market 71
B. Northern Rock and Liquidity Issues 74
C. The 'Regulatory Failure' in the UK and Proposed Changes 75
D. Other UK Financial Institution Failures, Near Failures, and Rescues 80
E. The US Financial Market Problems 82
8. Legal and Regulatory Responses to the Crisis in the UK 85
A. The Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 and The Banking Act 2009 86
(1) The Stabilization Options under the Special Resolution Regime 87
Overview 87
The trigger for exercise of stabilization powers 88
Special resolution objectives 90
The code of practice 91
Specific powers 91
The Banking Liaison Panel 93
Other provisions 94
Effect on contracts, etc. 94
Partial property transfers 95
Compensation 97
The power to change the law 101
(2) Bank Insolvency and Administration 102
Overview 102
Bank insolvency order 104
Bank administration order 105
Investment bank insolvency 106
B. Lehmans UK Litigation 114
C. The Landsbanki 'Freezing Order' 126
D. The Turner Review and the Initial Response of the FSA 127
E. The Walker Review 134
9. Response to the Crisis by the EU and Elsewhere 143
A. The de Larosière Report 143
B. The G20 Response to the Crisis 150
C. Response to the Crisis by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Board 151
10. The Legal Risk Implications of the Crisis 155
A. General 155
B. The Ensuing Litigation and Criminal Charges 156
C. Government Influence over Banks and the Post-Crisis Regulatory Environment 162
Ⅲ. THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION 165
11. Legal Risk in a Globalizing Financial Market 167
A. Banks in a Global Market 167
B. The Globalization Debate and Context 170
C. The Social and Political Background 171
D. Media Influence 173
E. Limits of Global Law 177
F. Reactions to Globalization 178
G. The Need for Legal Certainty 183
12. Social Responsibility 185
A. 'Sustainable Lending' 185
B. Environment Issues and the Equator Principles 188
13. The Role of International Institutions in Financial Law Reform 195
A. Impetus for Reform and the Principal Reform Bodies 195
B. UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT 197
C. EBRD and 'Law in Transition' 198
Ⅳ. EARLY PERCEPTIONS OF LEGAL RISK 203
14. A Landmark Case and its Aftermath 205
A. A Shock to the Markets—a Legal Debacle 205
B. The Points of Law Decided in Hammersmith andFulham 208
C. Background Facts 210
D. The Wider Context of the Case 212
15. A Case of Conceptual Impossibility 219
A. 'Charge-backs' and Legal Logic 219
B. Pressure from Other Jurisdictions 222
C. Loose Ends 223
16. Settling Differences 227
A. Early (but Perennial) Concerns about Set-offand Netting 227
B. General Issues 228
C. Why the Concerns Became Acute 231
D. The FLP's First Guidance Notice 234
E. Problems with Stock Lending Documentation—a Case Study 237
F. Case Law and Legislative Developments 244
G. Multilateral Netting—the British Eagle case and its Aftermath 251
Ⅴ. CHARACTERISTICS OF LEGAL RISK 261
17. Definition 263
A. Background and Context 263
B. Do We Need a Definition? 266
(1) Allocation of responsibility and effective risk management 267
(2) Impact on policy 268
(3) Responsibility for corporate misbehaviour 269
(4) Advantages of a 'norm' 269
(5) Need for flexibility 270
C. The FSA's Definition 271
D. A Bank of England Definition—the Cause-based Approach 272
E. The FLP's Approach 274
F. A Definition Proposed by UNIDROIT 276
G. The International Bar Association's Definition 277
H. The 'Rogue Trader' 282
18. Sources of Legal Risk 285
A. Sources of Legal Risk 286
B. The Behaviour of Financial Institutions 286
(1) Limited legal awareness 287
(2) Implementation failure 288
(3) Exploiting the letter of the law 290
(4) Outsourcing 292
C. The Nature of the Financial Markets 294
(1) Financial innovation 294
(2) New market sectors and convergence 298
(3) Cross-border business 300
D. Problems Within the Law 302
(1) Bad law 302
(2) Policy concerns 303
(3) Inaccessible law 305
(4) Unpredictable judicial reasoning 306
E. Interaction of Law and Finance 307
(1) Hard and soft law 307
(2) Interaction of'soft law' with consumerism 312
(3) Globalization 316
19. Causation 319
A. Risks and Causation Chains 320
B. Case Law and Common Sense 323
Ⅵ. EXAMPLES OF LEGAL RISK 327
20. Property Interests in Indirectly Held Investment Securities 329
A. Market Practice Compared with Law 330
B. The Hague Convention 335
C. Legal Reforms Around the World 336
D. The UNIDROIT Convention(The 'Geneva Securities Convention') 337
(1) The rights of an investor 338
(2) Acquisitions, disposals, and creating security interests 340
(3) Other provisions 341
E. The FMLC Proposals 341
21. Vague Laws 345
A. Over-ambitious Legislation 345
B. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 347
C. Market Abuse 356
22. Recharacterization 365
A. Different Ways of Raising Money 366
B. The Risk of Wrong Labels 368
C. Essential Differences Between Sale and Security 371
D. A Very Robust Decision 372
E. Fixed or Floating? 374
F. Floating Charges Defined 376
G. The Lender's Dilemma 377
H. The Spectrum Case 377
Ⅶ. LEGAL RISK MANAGEMENT 379
23. The Essentials of Legal Risk Management 381
A. The General Approach of Regulators to Risk Management 381
(1) Focus on people 383
(2) Priorities 385
B. Risk Management Principles 387
C. The Scope of the Risk Management Function 388
D. Examples of Risk Scenarios 389
E. Identification of Risks 395
F. Assessment of Risks 397
G. Monitoring 399
H. Control and Mitigation 402
24. Lawyers' Responsibility for the Management of Legal Risk 409
A. The Need for Clear Methodology 409
B. The Role of Lawyers and the Legal Department in Legal Risk Management 411
C. Opinions and Similar Documents 419
D. Document Retention 426
E. Clarity of Lawyer Roles 429
25. A 'Risk-based Approach' to Law 433
APPENDICES 441
Appendix 1 Interview with Lord Woolf 441
Appendix 2 Interview with David Ereira 447
Appendix 3 Rule 4.90 of the Insolvency Rules 1986 455
Appendix 4 Extract from the Turnbull Report 457
Appendix 5 BCBS Principles 459
Appendix 6 Recommendations from the C&I Group Paper regarding legal advice privilege 463
Appendix 7 Legal and Compliance Risk in Financial Institutions 465
Appendix 8 Legal Risk Guidance Note for Banks 477
Index 483