London | The wide-pinstripe suit is a bit of a giveaway: the Australian executive who is spearheading a multimillion-pound class action in Britain against National Australia Bank and its former offshoot Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank is not a lawyer by trade – he's an investment banker.

James Hayward, chief executive of the London-based claims management firm RGL, is not interested in the legal niceties of a class action case, or preparing a watertight brief for court. For him a lawsuit is an asset, like any other he has managed in his banking career. His job is to develop and nurture it to the point where he can attract funding and earn a return.