James Ayliffe QC

Banking & Finance CV

James has wide experience of banking and finance matters, including (among other things):

• the banker/customer relationship - e.g. claims for breach of duties owed by banks to customers;
• banking payments - e.g. disputes regarding cheques, promissory notes or other negotiable instruments;
• deposit-taking - e.g. issues arising from unlicensed deposit-taking or the winding up of deposit-taking activities;
• lending - e.g. disputes as to the terms or repayability of loans;
• securities - e.g. disputes arising out of the enforcement of guarantees, charges, bills of sale or other securities;
• investment banking - e.g. disputes with investment partners;
• claims against advisers - e.g. claims for negligence against valuers, lawyers or other professionals advising banks.

He is currently recommended in The Legal 500 for banking & finance. 

Some representative cases include:

• advising in relation to misselling claim against bank in respect of £50 million interest rate swap hedging contract
• acting for trustees of unit trust on dispute regarding the relative priority of a charge over the trust assets in favour of lender to secure £28m loan and the trustees' rights of indemnity (Dominion Trustees v Capmark Bank Europe [2011] EWCA Civ 380);
• acting for representative defendant appointed to represent the interests of noteholders in £1bn securitisation structure in Commercial Court proceedings regarding potential litigation by security trustee against provider of liquidity facility;
• acting for defendant to US$30m claim by trade finance lender arising out of fraudulent operation of an invoice discounting loan facility made available to UK importer;
• acting for UK property group on multi-million pound claim against its principal bankers for duress and intimidation arising out of withdrawal of £100m loan facilities in immediate aftermath of failure of Lehmans;
• advising Irish bank regarding issues arising out of the winding up of its deposit-taking business;
• acting for borrower under multi-million pound revolving loan facility with Landsbanki following the government's freezing of Icelandic assets;
• acting on dispute regarding priority of equitable charges in favour of two separate lenders;
• acting on successful strike out of high profile claim arising out of allegedly wrongful enforcement of a mortgage over the largest stately home in England;
• acting for defendant to a £50m claim arising out of financing arrangements in respect of the development of a shopping centre;
• advising bank regarding issues arising from the sale of derivative products;
• advising bank regarding enforceability of "shared appreciation mortgages" or SAMs;
• advising well-known department store regarding £100m claim against bank in respect of breaches of agreement regarding provision of branded store and credit cards;
• acting on numerous claims by banks and lenders against professional advisers.