Barclay's LIBOR manipulation

grizzly1911

CLAPTON wrote: »

the major problem in the UK isn't with the banks per se but that virtually all commentators and regulars and CEOs and politicians go along the the current trend (whatever that is)

no conspiracy as such but no-one saw the meltdown as no-one actually looked


the really huge story this week ought to have been the GSK story; here's a story of massive fraud on the health service and probably the death or poor health of 10s of thousands.

the pharmaceutical companies have been allowed by regulators, politicians, universities to corrupt the entire universiy system, to intimidate critics, to bribe doctors and damage the health of the people.


but it's not a news story yet...amazing

Thrug posted this a while back

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4050247

pop_gun

If there is a criminal investigation it will find Barclay's isn't criminal negligent. A parliamentary led enquiry will have a lot of gas bags on soap boxes spouting off about morality in the banking system (as if the two can co-exist), but when all is said and done nothing will happen to those responsible.

It makes you wonder why we're having this whole song and dance in the media.

MacD_2

mystic_trev wrote: »

With thanks to my good friend squiffs over at TMF

That is brilliant, so this is it? It is all out in the open, thereis no free market its all fixed?

worldtraveller

This whole thing is now getting big coverage in the U.S. media.

The latest estimate of lawsuits from government (state & local government agencies) and other investors, including U.S. municipalities, pension funds, hedge funds & mutual funds could lead to the banks' involved in manipulation of LIBOR having to pay out tens of billions of US$ in damages.

New York Times

wotsthat

Tomorrow on More or Less on radio 4 they are covering the Libor fixing scandal. Always worth a listen - healthly sceptical but without an obvious axe to grind.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qshd

grizzly1911

worldtraveller wrote: »

This whole thing is now getting big coverage in the U.S. media.

The latest estimate of lawsuits from government (state & local government agencies) and other investors, including U.S. municipalities, pension funds, hedge funds & mutual funds could lead to the banks' involved in manipulation of LIBOR having to pay out tens of billions of US$ in damages.

New York Times

Could is the operative world. No doubt there will be the difficulty in actually proving a loss/consequential loss unequivocally.

There will be no doubt be counter claims and plea bargaining for some time.

Astute businesses will also have ensured any liabilities are taken by now destitute subsidiaries.

Certainly some fat cat Lawyers are going to get a big wodge of cream.

grizzly1911

wotsthat wrote: »

Tomorrow on More or Less on radio 4 they are covering the Libor fixing scandal. Always worth a listen - healthly sceptical but without an obvious axe to grind.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qshd

Thanks for that link must listen in and pick up some of those historical ones too.

sabretoothtigger

HEARD ON THE STREET: Geithner Memo Adds to Pressure on BOE

By Simon Nixon

No smoking gun, but a heap more questions for the U.K. authorities. A newly disclosed 2008 memo from Tim Geithner to Mervyn King citing Federal Reserve Bank of New York concerns over the integrity of the London interbank offered rate - a key benchmark interest rate used to underpin trillions of dollars of transactions worldwide - rekindles debate over the Bank of England's role in the Libor-rigging scandal.

The former head of the New York Fed recommended in the memo to the BOE Governor that the British Bankers' Association, which oversees Libor, should develop new processes to prevent "accidental or deliberate misreporting" by banks submitting rates.

Confirmation that the New York Fed suspected some banks might be falsifying their Libor submissions certainly sits awkwardly with the BOE's insistence, as claimed by Deputy Governor Paul Tucker in testimony to a parliamentary committee this week, that it believed Libor to be a "malfunctioning market not a dishonest one".

True, Mr. Geithner's memo does not cite specific evidence of wrongdoing and so the BOE's defense still just about holds. The BOE released emails Friday showing that Mr. King asked Mr. Tucker to pass on Mr. Geithner's memo to the BBA.

But Mr. King and Mr. Tucker still have questions to answer. Even if they did not have specific evidence of wrongdoing, surely they must have suspected it? What did they do to investigate? Did they pass on Mr. Geithner's concerns about deliberate misreporting to the Financial Services Authority, which is responsible for market conduct?

The simple answer may be that in the spring and summer of 2008 the U.K. authorities considered they had more important things to worry about than the malfunctioning of a Libor process that was widely known to be flawed. It is also true that the poorly designed U.K. regulatory set-up left no official body with responsibility for the integrity of Libor.

But the U.S. authorities were clearly far less complacent. Not only was the New York Fed early to spot the problems and push for solutions, but it was left to U.S. rather than U.K. authorities to launch the investigations that led to Barclays (BCS) being fined $450 million.

How deeply the U.K. will now probe its role in the scandal is open to question. Details of a new parliamentary inquiry into banking standards announced Friday have already prompted accusations it will be a whitewash. But further disclosures by U.S. regulators in coming weeks may add to the pressure on U.K. authorities to provide answers.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 13, 2012 09:32 ET (13:32 GMT)

Is there not some irony that central banks artificially fix rates lower in order to benefit their own trades to some extent.

If the bank buys 200bn of bonds fixed at 2% and then is compelled to raise base rates to 5% to stop the currency value being destroyed, they are compromised into forcing losses on themselves


The dual or multiple mandates to the FED or BOE has put them on the rack.


http://money.cnn.com//2012/07/13/investing/geithner-libor-barclays/index.htm?section=money_news_economy&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_news_economy+%28Economy+News%29

worldtraveller

Copies of emails (pdf)

Graham_Devon

Can they really continue on claiming they didn't know anything?