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Briefing Notes
Banking & Finance
Paul Krugman warns of 2008-style systemic risk in private credit as two lenders fail and JPMorgan's Dimon flags opaque 'cockroach' contagion risk
Private credit opacity is the new structured credit risk — regulators lack the visibility that would have prevented 2008.
International
Monzo exits the US market and pivots to European expansion ahead of a London IPO, as its European banking licence reframes the challenger bank's growth story
Monzo's US exit is a bet that a European banking licence is worth more than a US fintech presence — and its IPO will test that thesis.
M&A
Slaughter & May leads Europe's M&A firms with $47bn in Q1 2026 deals as global PE buyouts hit $172bn despite AI fears and geopolitical pause
Latent PE deal capacity is high — the Iran conflict is delaying completions, not cancelling pipelines.
Regulation
FRC publishes first-ever guidance for audit firms on generative and agentic AI use, setting a three-risk framework as EY deploys new AI audit platform
The FRC's three-risk AI audit framework is now the benchmark — every audit firm's AI deployment is measured against it.
Disputes
US Second Circuit reinstates $656m terror verdict against PLO and Palestinian Authority following Supreme Court ruling on American courts' jurisdiction over Palestinian entities
A $656m terrorism judgment restored after 22 years — enforcement jurisdiction over sovereign-adjacent entities is now settled US law.
AI & Law
FRC publishes UK's first regulatory AI guidance for auditors as EY deploys live AI audit platform, forcing firms to confront professional liability in the age of agentic AI
The FRC's AI audit framework turns professional liability from an abstract risk into a documented enforcement standard.
Capital Markets
Loveholidays delays £1bn London IPO as Gulf travel chaos triggered by Iran conflict disrupts UK equity capital markets pipeline
Geopolitical shocks compress IPO windows — travel-sector listings are now first-order casualties of the Iran conflict.
Energy & Tech
UK's £1.5bn CCUS supply-chain milestone reached as carbon capture sector moves from policy commitment to commercial contracting reality
CCUS is now a contracting story, not a policy story — £1.5bn of supply-chain commitments means legal execution has begun.