Edited by David Warne & Nicholas Elliott QC
Publisher: Sweet & Maxwell
Price: £110
To seek to write a book dealing with all issues that can arise in litigation involving banks would be very ambitious indeed. In recognition of this, the general editors of Banking Litigation explain that the work is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to such issues; nor is it intended to be a guide on how banking litigation should be conducted. Rather, the book is intended to highlight and contribute to the debate on a number of important developments that have taken place in the law over recent years that significantly affect the position of banks in their business dealings.
The principal focus of the book is on difficulties that can arise for a bank in the course of carrying on its mainstream businesses of accepting deposits and providing loans. This is a sensible way of limiting the territory to be covered by the work, but it does mean that certain significant recent problem areas are not dealt with, including legal issues in relation to derivatives trading – a topic of considerable concern following the fall-out from the recent economic turmoil in the former Soviet Union and the Far East.
The work is divided into eight chapters. The first two of these concern the disputes that can arise between banks, third parties and their customers, and provides a helpful summary of a number of the principal issues that can arise in these areas.
A further chapter on issues that arise out of syndicated lending analyses the relatively few cases that exist in this important area and includes a useful discussion on the question of what losses that may be recoverable, and by whom, for negligent valuations.
The chapter on electronic banking is a useful overview of legal developments in this area although it does not address in any detail practical problems that might arise.
Other chapters deal with specific issues relating to the taking of security and disclosure, both to criminal and regulatory authorities and in the context of litigation (although drafted pre-CPR the substance of this section is not materially affected by the changes under the new rules).
Overall, the book is well written and clearly explains the areas that it deals with. Provided one remembers the limitations on what the book seeks to achieve, it is very useful and very readable work.
Calum Burnett is a senior associate in Allen & Overy’s Banking and Finance Litigation Group.
