Barclays guilty of market manipulation
moneyweek, 27 June 2012
Barclays Bank is to pay a 290 million pound fine following an investigation by UK and US regulators into manipulation of inter-bank lending rates.
The bank’s top executives, including Chief Executive Bob Diamond, have agreed to waive their bonuses this year as a result. City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), said Barclays’ regulation breaches were “serious, widespread and extended over a number of years”.
It accused the bank of having inadequate systems and controls in place until June 2010 and of failing to review its systems and controls at a number of appropriate points.
The FSA’s portion of the fine, £59.5m, is the biggest fine the FSA has ever handed down. Had the bank not co-operated with it, the fine would have been £85m, the regulator said.
The remainder of the penalty is owed to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice.
Barclays staff were found to have manipulated submissions for the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) to benefit the bank’s interest rate derivatives traders.
