Banking and finance

Members of Chambers have substantial experience in banking and finance and in the related field of financial services regulation.  A number of our members are recognised in the legal directories as “leaders of their field” in this area.  Our banking and finance work is complemented by our experience ‘offshore’ and our expertise in the related areas of insolvency, professional liability, civil fraud and trusts.

Typical work includes:

  • Breach of mandate
  • Claims for breach of duty of care
  • Claims for poor investment advice, “mis-selling” or benchmark (eg LIBOR) manipulation
  • Professional negligence claims against advisers (eg. valuers, lawyers or other professionals advising banks)
  • Consumer Credit Act
  • The Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
  • Advice on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the FCA Handbook
  • Capital adequacy
  • Fraud and money laundering
  • Regulatory investigations
  • Investment Banking
  • Syndicated lending
  • Disputes arising out of the enforcement of guarantees, charges, bills of sale or other securities
  • Securitisation
  • Disputes regarding cheques, promissory notes or other negotiable instruments
  • Dispute relating to payments eg payments made by mistake, EFT and phishing
  • Asset tracing, preservation and recovery
  • Islamic Finance

Notable cases

JSC BTA Bank v Sabyrbaev and others [2024]

Claim No. BVIHCM2021/0171

Judgment handed down by the BVI Commercial Court in what is the latest episode in the global Ablyazov litigation; in this claim against 54 defendants, Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank alleges it has been the victim of a fraudulent scheme involving the issue of high letters of credit resulting in losses of approximately US$230 million.

The judgment provides a comprehensive survey of the law applicable to service out of the jurisdiction in the BVI, including the duty of full and frank disclosure, and provides a salutary warning to litigants seeking to use BVI incorporated ‘Anchor Defendants’ as a hook through which to bring their real targets within the jurisdiction of the BVI courts.

Read the full judgment

Kirtanlal International DMCC v State Bank Of India (DIFC Branch) [2023]

[2022] DIFC CFI 041

Judgment has been handed down in the Court of First Instance of the DIFC by Justice Sir Jeremy Cooke.

Kirtanlal International DMCC, a steel trading company, brought a claim for damages of USD 18.51m in relation to what it said was the unlawful termination of its facility agreement with the Defendant bank. Kirtanlal claimed that the Bank acted in breach of a duty of good faith and/or a Braganza duty, alleging malice on the part of the Bank. Kirtanlal also alleged that there were breaches of tortious, fiduciary and regulatory duties by the Bank.

The Court rejected the $18.5 million damages claim.

Read the full judgment

 

Invest Bank v El-Husseini [2023]

[2023] EWHC 2302 (Comm)

In a judgment handed down on 20 September 2023 following the trial of preliminary issues, the Deputy Judge of the Commercial Court held that it is not a rule of private international law that a final and binding foreign judgment on the merits must be enforceable in the foreign jurisdiction before it could be the subject of an application to ‘enforce’ the foreign judgment in this jurisdiction by a claim at common law, and dismissed the sixth defendant’s application to set aside a default judgment the claimant had obtained against the first defendant, as (i) there was accordingly no arguable defence, and (ii) the sixth defendant had not satisfied the Denton criteria.

Read the full judgment

CPF One Limited & anor v Ortus Secured Finance I Limited [2023]

[2023] EWHC 2102 (Ch)

Successfully obtaining summary judgment in the defendants’ favour.

This judgment is be of especial interest to commercial lenders, particularly those operating in the realm of property and development finance.

Read the full judgment

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC v Shetty & others [2022]

A US$1 Billion damages claim, which arose out of the collapse of NMC PLC, a former FTSE 100 company, and its operating subsidiaries in the UAE, all of which are now in administration in England and Wales and the UAE. The claimant is an Abu Dhabi-based bank, and the first to third defendants are the former private shareholders in NMC PLC. The Bank alleged that the defendants are responsible, with others, for a serious fraud that appears to have taken place within the NMC Group of companies. The defendants all deny involvement in the fraud.

Manoukian v Société Générale Banque Liban and Bank Audi [2022]

[2022] EWHC 669 (QB)

One of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases of 2022’: successfully acted for Mr Manoukian in obtaining an order for payment of international transfers from his bank accounts held with the defendants, who are two of the largest banks in Lebanon. Since the onset of the Lebanese economic crisis, Lebanese banks, including the defendants, have refused to make international transfers of the sums held with them in foreign currency by their customers.

Read the full judgment

In the matter of Lehman Brothers Holdings PLC [2021]

[2021] EWCA Civ 1523

High value, multi-party appeal arising out of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse concerned with the ranking of different tranches of subordinated debt totalling several billions – important case on construction of subordinated debt.

Read the full judgment

The Libyan Investment Authority v Credit Suisse and others [2021]

[2021] EWHC 2684 (Comm)

Acting for one of the successful defendants in his jurisdiction challenge  – a Libyan businessman against whom a claim had been brought by the Libyan Investment Authority alleging fraud and corruption in relation to transactions valued at US$200 million that it had entered into with Credit Suisse bank in 2008 and 2009.

Read the full judgment

Acting for JP Morgan Chase in relation to possible default under $300m floating rate note.

Litigation arising from the collapse of Northern Rock, Lehman Brothers and the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing.

Representing the liquidator of Lehman Bros International Europe Ltd in relation to the distribution of US $19bn of assets.

Aquarelle Etoile II SA v Etoile Developpement I SA & Ors SA

The repayment of €148m of Islamic finance provided by a Qatari bank to finance the redevelopment of the Place de l’Etoile in Luxembourg.

 

Acting for the bank in Shah v HSBC Private Bank

The leading case on the conflict between a bank’s contractual duties and its duties under POCA.

Acting for liquidator of Isis v Kaupthing 

[2013] EWCA Civ 1493

In proceedings in which the English Courts interpreted the Credit Institutions (Reorganisation and Winding up) Regulations 2004 concerning cross border cooperation on the liquidation of banks and the ability to counterclaim in proceedings.

Read the full judgment

In Dextra v Bank of Jamaica

[2001] UKPC 50

Acted for claimant in Privy Council appeal seeking restitution and damages for conversion of bill of exchange in decision which established limits of good faith challenge to change of position defence.

Read the full judgment

Insights View all thought leadership

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    Articles

    A hidden gem? The ‘sufficient connection with the jurisdiction’ test under s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in the light of Suppipat v Narogdej [2023] EWHC 1988 (Comm)’

    Tim Penny KC and Daniel Petrides have written an article for TL4’s FIRE Starters magazine entitled “A hidden gem? The ‘sufficient connection with the jurisdiction’ test under s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in the light of Suppipat v Narogdej... Read more

    By Tim Penny KC | Daniel Petrides
    Monday 3 June 2024

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    News

    Wilberforce shortlisted for Chambers of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2024

    We are delighted to announce that Wilberforce Chambers has been shortlisted at this year’s The Lawyer Awards for Chambers of the Year! Winners will be announced on Tuesday 18th June at London’s JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel. We are incredibly... Read more

    Friday 12 April 2024

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    Recent Cases

    JSC BTA Bank v Sabyrbaev and others

    Civil fraud and asset recovery, Banking and financial services, Commercial disputes, International / offshore

    Thomas Grant KC | Tara Taylor
    Friday 9 February 2024

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    News

    Four wins for Wilberforce at Chambers UK Bar Awards 2023

    We are absolutely delighted to have picked up four awards at last night’s Chambers UK Bar Awards! We are proud to announce that Wilberforce Chambers won the highly coveted ‘Set of the Year‘ award, as well as ‘Chancery Set of... Read more

    Friday 1 December 2023

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