City litigators could find themselves handling a raft of banking litigation in the wake of the House of Lords’ long-awaited decision in Natwest v Spectrum Plus, which last week down-graded the rights of banks in many insolvencies.

The closely-watched decision saw seven law lords rule on 30 June that security over a common type of bank lending should be treated as a floating charge in the event of an insolvency, rather than a socalled fixed charge.