Rate probe turns to four major banks

[alp227]

Last edited Wed Jul 18, 2012, 10:09 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: FT

Regulators are focusing on at least four of Europe’s biggest banks as they investigate the attempted manipulation of the region’s benchmark interest rate, suspecting that Barclays’ traders were the ringleaders of a circle that included Crédit Agricole, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale.

Evidence of links between traders at all four banks and Barclays’ former euroswaps trader Philippe Moryoussef is under scrutiny, people involved in the process have told the Financial Times.

The news comes in the wake of the clear-out of senior management at Barclays, after the bank paid a £290m fine to settle probes in the US and UK into its involvement in the attempted manipulation of the London interbank offered rate (Libor) and its European equivalent, Euribor.

The furore over the attempts to rig lending benchmarks has led to calls from policy makers around the world for an overhaul of the system that underpins $500tn of contracts globally – everything from arcane derivatives to standard home loans.

Read more: http://liveweb.archive.org/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a2b585fa-d0ff-11e1-8957-00144feabdc0.html?ft

[dkf]

1. Note they are EUROPEAN banks.

The biggest problems in the banking system aren't under our control.

How does Dodd Frank fix any of this? Europe's banking system is 3 times the size of ours.

[JDPriestly]

2. Or is the Obama adminsitration closing its eyes to the banking fraud by US banks?

[dipsydoodle]

3. Not only that

they can't be sued through US courts - only the countries whose stock exchanges they are listed on : Barclays in the UK for example. Not that should be an issue other than the fact it might break up the US lawyer's caravan which doubtless is already in place.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. there was an uproar in the UK over Barclays

how many US banks are doing what Barclays did (or may be still doing)