Irreconcilable differences? Bank directors, shareholders and regulators

Those tasked with governing UK banks have always faced difficulties in balancing competing interests.  This stems in part from the fact that banks must be operated in accordance with both company law and applicable financial services regulation.  The two regimes do not always operate in a clearly integrated and consistent manner.  Banks are also among the largest and most complex organisations, which adds to the practical challenge of governing them effectively, particularly when they are run on a cross-border basis.

James Palmer, Hywel Jenkins and Barnaby Hinnigan explore the difficulties faced by bank directors in balancing company law and regulatory requirements in this article first published in Butterworths' Journal of International Banking and Financial Law in November 2014.