Key Takeaways
- The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has expressed significant concern over a high rate of leaked takeover deals, with nearly two in five (38%) UK M&A announcements between April 2024 and May 2025 reported in the press before official statements.
- A recent court ruling mandates His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to disclose whether it utilized Artificial Intelligence (AI) in tax credit decisions, underscoring a growing demand for transparency in governmental AI deployment.
- Spanish banking giant BBVA (BBVA) has launched comprehensive cryptocurrency trading and custody services for retail customers in Spain, allowing them to manage Bitcoin and Ethereum directly within their existing digital banking platforms.
- The FCA has initiated 33 investigations into potential market abuse since 2020, including instances of "strategic leaks" designed to influence takeover processes.
- The expansion of BBVA's crypto services aligns with the EU's MiCA regulations, marking a significant step in institutional digital asset adoption within a regulated framework.
The integrity of the UK's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is under intense scrutiny as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) raises alarms over the pervasive issue of deal leaks. A recent report indicates that a striking 38% of UK takeover announcements made between April 2024 and May 2025 were prematurely revealed in the press, a figure notably higher than the global average of 31% across 509 tracked deals. These leaks can trigger substantial share price fluctuations and facilitate the improper dissemination of sensitive information, potentially undermining market fairness.
The FCA has responded by opening 33 investigations into potential market abuse since the beginning of 2020. Concerns extend to "strategic leaks," where inside information is deliberately provided to the media by parties involved in a transaction, possibly to deter rival bidders. This issue recently came to the forefront when Shell (SHEL) was compelled to deny speculation regarding a potential takeover approach for BP (BP) following a media report.
In a separate but equally significant development concerning public sector technology, a court has ruled that HMRC must disclose whether it used Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its tax credit decisions. This judgment highlights increasing demands for transparency and accountability in the deployment of AI within government operations. The ruling comes amidst broader discussions and past cases where AI has been shown to generate fictitious legal citations, leading to the dismissal of taxpayer appeals. Experts from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have emphasized the need for robust legal safeguards for AI in tax administration, noting that AI making discretionary decisions fundamentally shifts the role of the primary decision-maker from a human officer to the AI system itself.
Meanwhile, the financial landscape for digital assets continues to evolve with BBVA (BBVA), a major Spanish banking group, launching new cryptocurrency trading and custody services for its retail clients in Spain. Customers can now buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum directly through BBVA's existing digital banking platforms. This initiative follows regulatory approval from the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) in March 2025 and is designed to comply with the European Union's comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations. BBVA has stated it uses its own infrastructure for asset custody, indicating a direct, integrated approach rather than reliance on third-party custodians for this specific service. This expansion builds on BBVA's previous ventures into crypto services in Switzerland (2021) and Turkey (2023), signaling a growing trend of institutional adoption of digital assets within a regulated framework.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.