Our expertise in banking and financial disputes

We are widely recognised as the “go to” law firm for litigation involving major banks and global financial institutions, acting for claimants and defendants.

Our proven track record of success and significant wins for our clients has attracted some of the world’s biggest financial institutions, multi-national corporations and high net worth individuals, all of whom trust us to resolve their most high-stakes, business-critical disputes swiftly and successfully.

Our banking litigation expertise encompasses acting on cases involving the full breadth of finance and trade lifecycle, including advising on litigation risks before matters become outwardly contentious and in relation to highly sensitive confidential matters between institutions.

With over 100 lawyers within the commercial disputes group, we have the resources and expertise to handle heavyweight litigation. We also offer clients in-house technical banking and quant expertise, and one of our partners was previously the former head of derivatives at a leading investment house.

Our exceptional client service and unwavering commitment to the most successful outcomes is reflected by the 2025 Legal Business report which ranks the most highly recommended law firms based on independent client feedback. Stewarts is ranked 8th most recommended law firm out of 100.

In further recognition of the complex nature of our litigation work and the continued confidence of the high calibre clients instructing us, nine of our cases have appeared in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases list in the last five years.

Our recognised expertise in fraud ties in closely with our banking work, providing clients with an additional and often strategically essential tool in their litigation, increasing the chances of a successful outcome.

Our team has substantial experience in putting together innovative costs and risk-sharing arrangements for clients. We were one of the pioneering firms in this space, and as part of our continued commitment to allowing our clients to litigate from a position of financial strength, we developed a new litigation funding product. Stewarts Litigate was launched as a ground-breaking after-the-event (ATE) insurance facility designed to protect clients from the exposure to adverse costs in litigation.

Our cases include:

• Acting for the Public Institution for Social Security, Kuwait in a landmark claim in excess of US$2bn against over 40 international defendants including multiple financial institutions, which included managing related proceedings in over ten other jurisdictions including the US, UAE, Switzerland, Monaco, various Caribbean countries, Liechtenstein, Singapore, the Philippines and France. The 12-month trial, which was one of the largest and longest trials ever to take place in England, concluded in March 2026
• Defending Tavira Monaco SAM against a banking fraud claim of around US$275m brought by one of Mexico’s richest individuals in relation to stock backed lending transactions in which Tavira acted as custodian, with related proceedings in Monaco
• Acting for the joint liquidators of Arena and related companies in a Quincecare claim against the Bank of Scotland plc and Lloyds Bank plc in relation to a ponzi scheme arising from asset backed lending perpetrated by Arena’s former directors which resulted in around £280m of losses
• Acting for the joint liquidators of Kijani Resources and Ratio against Natwest in a claim worth around US$100m. Both companies were key components of a fraudulent investment scheme, whereby funds invested in a Mauritian fund were dissipated through a network of related entities
• Acting for the liquidator of Transworld Payment Solutions against First Curaçao International Bank N.V. in its appeal against a first instance judgment of over £200m arising from Transworld’s alleged involvement in large-scale MTIC (carousel) fraud and the movement of funds through offshore banking structures
• Acting for a foreign bank in relation to multiparty proceedings regarding the enforceability of government guarantees supporting over €500m loans and a related arbitration dispute in relation to contested insurance coverage
• Acting for Fortress and other investment funds against BNP Paribas in a claim for approximately US$60m arising out of the issue of a defective US$650m Islamic bond (sukuk) issued by “Golden Belt”
• Defending Kazakhstan against the Bank of New York Mellon and the Stati parties in relation to the attempted enforcement of a US$500m arbitration award obtained by fraud
• Defending a major mining company against claims brought by mezzanine lenders for alleged breaches of a commitment letter providing for up to US$400m of lending
• Acting for defendants against allegations of over £1bn fraud in relation to a complex trading structure brought by the Danish tax authority (SKAT)
• Acting for 313 institutional investors in the first s90 FSMA securities litigation of its type against the Royal Bank of Scotland. The case concerned the accuracy of the bank’s 2008 rights issue prospectus on which the bank raised £12bn
• Acting for Kaupthing and the BVI liquidators of two BVI special purpose vehicles against Deutsche Bank and others in related cases, both cases relating to the alleged sale by Deutsche Bank of credit linked notes (CLNs) to the special purpose vehicles (associated with Kaupthing) where the reference entity was Kaupthing. The subject matter of the proceedings was the subject of criminal proceedings in Iceland and a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation in England
• Representing mezzanine lenders in proceedings against senior lenders and JP Morgan Europe Ltd (as security trustee) arising out of a forced restructuring of an automotive parts manufacturer. The senior lenders sought declarations that the restructuring was valid. The mezzanine lenders counterclaimed for declarations that the restructure was void or voidable in equity and of no effect and also sought damages or equitable compensation from JP Morgan for alleged breaches of duty, including fiduciary duties
• Acting for LBI hf in its claim for damages (of €24m) from Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG and Raiffeisen Bank International AG in relation to the termination of a global master repurchase agreement and a global master securities lending agreement. The case raised an issue of considerable importance to the markets concerning the determination of “fair market value” in industry-wide standard form banking agreements
• Acting for a global institution in relation to a multibillion dollar claim against four of the largest global investment banks
• Advising a global institution in relation to ‘cum-cum’ trades and potential claims
• Acting for a leading lender on coverage of costs and liabilities exceeding £300m, arising from the motor finance commissions litigation and FCA redress scheme
• Advising a FTSE listed investment manager on coverage of a multi-million-pound cybercrime loss.