Secret Commissions in Motor Finance - Implications for Financial Institutions

Introduction

This new webinar will discuss the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment on secret commissions in the motor finance industry: Hopcraft v Close Brothers Limited; Johnson v FirstRand Bank Limited; Wrench v FirstRand Bank Limited [2025] UKSC 33.

Against the backdrop of the Court of Appeal’s decision in 2024 and with a view to the FCA’s [proposed] redress scheme, the session will explain what the Supreme Court’s decision means for lenders, motor finance brokers and other financial intermediaries in other sectors, and what the motor finance industry can expect next.

What You Will Learn

This short webinar will cover the following:

• A brief overview of the motor finance ‘saga’ so far
• The key findings in Johnson: the Supreme Court’s curtailment of the Court of Appeal’s decision, including its approach to secret and half-secret commissions in the motor finance context, and what that means for the tort of bribery and the scope of the fiduciary duty, especially for financial intermediaries
• The implications of Johnson for unfair contract claims
• The implications of the decision for discretionary commission arrangements
• What to expect next following Johnson: a brief overview of the FCA’s motor finance redress scheme, the scope for residual litigation and other issues practitioners should be looking out for

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Thursday 5th March 2026

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