Bank of England dragged into rate-rigging row'
Bob Diamond had a conversation with Paul Tucker about how much Barclays was claiming it had to pay to borrow money during the financial crisis in 2008.
After Mr Diamond spoke to Mr Tucker, Barclays staff came to believe the Bank of England wanted them to falsify this data — which was used to calculate Libor, the interest rate that banks pay to each other.
The bank’s traders then escalated their secret attempts to manipulate the markets and make it appear that the bank was paying less to borrow money than was actually the case, documents show.
Last night sources at both banks insisted this was the result of a “misunderstanding”. They insisted that Mr Tucker had not sanctioned Barclays’ actions.
At the time the Bank of England was keen to see a lower Libor rate, as that would have been a positive sign in the depths of the credit crunch.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9369042/Bank-of-England-dragged-into-rate-rigging-row.html
The London financial industry is not only a racket; it is an official racket.
