Company: BCS
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000312069-25-000114
Chunk: 397

Company: BARCLAYS PLC
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 20-F
Chunk 397
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 to arise from operational issues or conduct matters which cause harm to customers, clients, market integrity, effective competition or the Group (refer to ‘v) Operational risk’ above.

| For further details on the Group’s approach toreputation risk, refer to thereputation riskmanagementandreputation risk performancesections. |

ix) Legal r isk and legal, competition and regulatory matters The Group conducts diverse activities in a highly regulated global market which exposes it and its employees to legal risk arising from: (i) the multitude of laws, rules and regulations that apply to the activities it undertakes , which are highly dynamic, may vary between jurisdictions and/or conflict, and may be unclear in their application to particular circumstances especially in new and emerging areas; and (ii) the diversified and evolving nature of the Group’s businesses and business practices. In each case, this exposes the Group and its employees to the risk of loss or the imposition of penalties, damages or fines from the failure of members of the Group to meet applicable laws, rules, regulations or contractual requirements or to assert or defend their intellectual property rights. Legal risk may arise in relation to any number of the material existing and emerging risks identified above. A breach of applicable laws, rules and/or regulations by the Group or its employees could result in criminal prosecution, regulatory censure, potentially significant fines, remedial orders and other sanctions in the jurisdictions in which the Group operates. Where clients, customers or other third parties are harmed by the Group’s conduct, this may also give rise to civil legal proceedings, including class actions. Other legal disputes may also arise between the Group and third parties relating to matters such as breaches or enforcement of legal rights or obligations arising under contracts, statutes or common law. Adverse findings in any such matters may result in the Group being liable to third parties or may result in the Group’s rights not being enforced or not being enforced in the manner intended or desired by the Group. In the UK, the wider financial industry may be impacted by the October 2024 Court of Appeal judgments on commission arrangements in the motor finance industry, subject to the result of the appeals of those judgments to the Supreme Court, and to the FCA’s ongoing review of the motor finance market. In December 2024, the FCA announced an extension to the time motor finance firms have to handle complaints on lender commissions until after 4 December 2025, following on from the Court of Appeal’s judgments in Johnson v FirstRand Bank, Wrench v FirstRand Bank and Hopcroft v Close Brothers