Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. are among 12 lenders suing Iceland's failed Kaupthing Bank hf over a loan facility.

The lawsuit is one of at least six separate claims filed in London against Icelandic banks by financial institutions based in Germany, Asia and Australia. Iceland took control of Kaupthing, Landsbanki Islands hf and Glitnir Bank hf in October after the three banks amassed debt worth $61 billion, about 12 times the size of the economy, according to Bloomberg data.

The Kaupthing lawsuit, filed Nov. 3, was also brought on behalf of lenders including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Cathay United Bank, a unit of Cathay Financial Holding Co., Malayan Banking Bhd, Malaysia's biggest bank, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

``The syndicate led by the arranger, Sumitomo Mitsui, has commenced legal action for recovery of the facility,'' Paul Edwards, a spokesman for ANZ, said Nov. 8. ANZ's role in the syndicate was ``relatively small,'' he said, declining to provide details.

Sumitomo Mitsui spokeswoman Chika Togawa confirmed that the Tokyo-based bank, Japan's third-largest bank by revenue, was a plaintiff in the suit. She said the bank wasn't leading the lawsuit.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group spokesman Takashi Takeuchi confirmed that the Tokyo-based bank, Japan's largest by market value, was a plaintiff in the suit and that it concerned a syndicated loan.

U.K. Treasury

The U.K. Treasury seized Kaupthing's deposit operation and sold it to ING Groep NV on Oct. 8, transferring 2.5 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) of assets and prompting Kaupthing's London lawyers to threaten its own lawsuit against the U.K. government for misfeasance in public office and negligence.

Richard Beresford, Kaupthing's lawyer at London-based Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLP, declined to immediately comment. Jonas Sigurgeirsson, Kaupthing's spokesman in Reykjavik, didn't respond to an e-mail message.

Prakash Mukherjee, a spokesman for Maybank, didn't have a comment and Steve Batten, a spokesman for Commonwealth Bank of Australia, declined to comment.

In a separate lawsuit filed in London, Sumitomo Mitsui is also suing Glitnir. The bank referred calls to the Icelandic receiver's committee, who didn't respond to e-mailed messages.

The case is Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Corporation & Others v Kaupthing Bank HF, case number 08-1135.

To contact the reporter for this story: Caroline Byrne in London at cbyrne12@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 11, 2008 06:41 EST