The credit crunch has yet to create a wave of commercial litigation, according to latest Ministry of Justice statistics.

Although the number of commercial cases launched in the High Court hit 64,046 in 2007 – the highest for seven years – this represents only a 1.6% increase on 2006, when 63,027 cases were launched.

Fiona Walkinshaw, partner at City firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, said the small rise contradicts what was, at the time, the conventional wisdom that the crunch would cause litigation to boom.

‘Doubtless there will be some further growth in the number of commercial cases reaching court as the economic turmoil drags on,’ she said.

‘But it remains to be seen whether the received wisdom that a surge in litigation always follows an economic downturn will translate into a boom in cases being fought in court. Banks and investors in particular may want to keep the details of losses quiet.’

The number of court actions launched per year since 2001 has fluctuated between 50,000 and 65,000. This follows the almost 110,000 actions that were launched in 1999 alone.