Consumer finance, payments and security

Speakers

• Ned Beale (Partner, Trowers & Hamlins LLP)
• Ian Benson (Cyber Director, Financial Services, PwC)
• Alan Brener (UCL Centre for Ethics and Law, Queen Mary University of London)
• Emily Cox (Emily Cox, Lead Lawyer, Which)

Topics covered

• Banking fraud – practical problems and legal remedies (Ned Beale)
• Consumer protection and payment services: the risks and opportunities posed by both the New Payments Architecture and Payment Services Directive (Alan Brener)
• Consumer safeguards in the market for push payments – the first Payment Systems Regulator super-complaint (Emily Cox)
• Cyber Security – the growing threat and practical steps organisations are taking to manage the risk (Ian Benson)

About the speakers

Emily Cox is a lead lawyer at Which?, the largest consumer body in the UK.  Which? operates as a social enterprise with one overriding purpose: to tackle consumer detriment.  Profits from its publishing business and other commercial operations are used to fund its charitable research, policy and campaigning activities.

Emily recently joined Which? to advise the policy and campaigning divisions on areas such as consumer rights, collective redress and public law. This includes looking at how best to challenge poor or unlawful market practice and enforce consumer rights and protections in the context of the organisation’s super-complainant powers.  Emily is a solicitor-advocate.  Prior to Which?, she spent 14 years in private practice specialising in commercial litigation and, latterly, privacy.

Alan H Brener is currently undertaking a PhD at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS), Queen Mary University of London. Professor Rosa Lastra and Dr Costanza Russo are his supervisors. Alan is a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Ethics and Law at University College London and a council member of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has a LLM from UCL.

Prior to starting his PhD Alan worked for Santander UK and was responsible, at different times, for the compliance and retail legal departments and regulatory policy. Before joining Santander in 2005, from 1996, he headed the compliance departments for the retail banking divisions of Natwest and RBS banks. From 1989 to 1996 Alan was a senior prudential and conduct of business regulator for the insurance and collective investments sectors having previously worked on aspects of public policy at the Department of Trade and Industry.

Most recently, prior to starting his PhD, Alan was on secondment from Santander helping to set up the Banking Standards Board with the objective of improving standards of conduct and professionalism within the banking industry.

Ian Benson is a director at PwC focused on cyber security in the financial services sector. He has over 16 years’ experience in cyber security the majority in financial services, having previously worked for another ‘big four’ professional services firm for 10 years and before that a global investment bank. Ian’s core expertise is in planning, mobilising and delivering large scale cyber security change and he has led multi-year, multi-million pound programmes in both the retail banking and insurance sectors as well as filling a number of senior security roles on a secondment basis.

Ian also has significant experience engaging c-level and executive board audiences on the subject of cyber governance as well as advising a number of start-up organisations on the practical steps and priorities for managing cyber risk.

Most recently, prior to starting his PhD, Alan was on secondment from Santander helping to set up the Banking Standards Board with the objective of improving standards of conduct and professionalism within the banking industry.

Ned Beale is partner at Trowers & Hamlins LLP, London.  Trowers is a full service law firm with offices in the UK and the Middle East. Trowers is particularly known working on behalf of publicly funded bodies and across the regeneration, development and commercial property sectors.

Ned is a member of Trowers’ dispute resolution team.  He has wide experience of disputes in the banking sector, including both retail banking and structured finance.  This has included acting for businesses, public sector bodies and individuals who have been the victim of banking scams, advising on civil liability and asset recovery.

Ned also advises the public on civil and consumer law after many years as a legal adviser at Camden Citizens Advice.  He writes for The Guardian newspaper on legal topics, including consumer law and access to justice issues.