Banks face rising litigation

High Court claims against banks soared in the past year by 37%, showing the trend for increased litigation against banks shows no sign of abating.

In the past 12 months, the world’s 50 largest banks were forced to defend 157 cases, compared to 115 cases in 2015/16, and just 51 cases in 2011/12. City law firm RPC, which collected the figure says the long-term fallout from the 2008 financial crash has driven the rise, with many cases such as the mis-selling of hedging products and related disputes only reaching the high court in the last year or so. According to the firm, greater availability of third party litigation funding, media attention on high-profile cases, and the fact claimants typically have six years to launch a claim may all have contributed to the rise.

UK banks-most notably Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland- accounted for two-thirds of the total 784 High Court cases involving the largest 50 banks in the past five years.