Is Germany the Sick Person of Europe?

Conduct Risk for Internal Auditors

The term “conduct risk” has led many organisations to restructure their regulatory compliance processes and embark major initiatives to ensure regulatory risk management is fine-tuned. The FCA’s Consumer Duty is the latest challenge in this regard.

This one day in-person training course seeks to examine the nature of conduct risk in financial services, explain both what it is and how an organisation should take a structured and measured approach to it.

Is Germany the Sick Person of Europe?

In 2023 German employees averaged 19.4 days of sickness. Apparently, the trend is upwards. Some analysts believe that a GDP drop of 0.3 per cent could have been a hike of 0.5 per cent. As I know first-hand, German companies heavily invest in employee well-being. Is it time to take the Tesla approach and go knocking on “sick” employees’ doors?

FCA Targets Odey

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is investigating Crispin Odey for breach of its “integrity” principles. Mr. Odey has been charged with numerous cases of sexual harassment and assault – charges which he denies which led to the demise of his asset management fir. He is now being pursued for interfering with the disciplinary practices of his firm. Apparently, he replaced the whole executive committee with himself in order to complete an investigation on – himself! A subject for our Regulatory Update webinar.

Sabadell Fights with Cerberus

Last week saw the end of a High Court trail. Sabadell is seeking to recover £ 365 million in unpaid charges for the sale of a series of commercial property portfolios. Twenty per cent of the purchase fee was deferred given that certain properties had yet to be properly registered. It would appear that this component has yet to be settled. The litigation hinges on whether the precise words in the contract determine liabilities or practical common-sense interpretation.