"Worker had reported Barclays" by Ben Protess and Michael J. De La Merced | New York Times, July 14, 2012
A Barclays employee notified the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in April 2008 that the firm was underestimating its borrowing costs, following potential warning signs as early as 2007 that other banks were undermining the integrity of a key interest rate.
And for FIVE YEARS NOTHING WAS DONE! How many TRILLIONS were STOLEN during that time?
In 2008, the employee said the move was prompted by a desire to ‘‘fit in with the rest of the crowd’’ and added, ‘‘we know that we’re not posting um, an honest Libor,’’ according to documents the agency released Friday. The Barclays employee said he believed such practices were widespread among major banks.
So the WHOLE SYSTEM has been based on FRAUD, huh?
And EVERYONE in position of authority KNEW!
In response, the New York Fed began examining the matter and passed its findings to other financial authorities, according to the documents.
But the agency’s actions came too late and failed to thwart the illegal activities. By the time of the April 2008 conversation, the British firm had been trying to manipulate the interest rate for three years. And the practice persisted at Barclays for about a year after the briefing with the New York Fed.
Friday’s revelations shed new light on regulators’ role in the rate manipulation scandal. The documents also raise concerns about why authorities did not act sooner to thwart the rate-rigging.
Among those in the spotlight is Timothy F. Geithner, then the president of the New York Fed, who briefed other regulators about the problems in May and June 2008. Still, questions remain about whether Geithner, who is now the Treasury secretary, was aggressive enough in rooting out the problem, a matter he will most likely address in congressional testimony this month....
Lawmakers are pressing regulators to explain their actions surrounding Libor. Politicians in Washington and London are worried about the integrity of Libor, which serves as a benchmark interest rate for trillions of dollars worth of loans to consumers and corporations, as well as more sophisticated financial products....
Representative Randy Neugebauer, Republican of Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations: ‘‘As much as $800 trillion in financial products are pegged to Libor, so any manipulation of this rate is of serious concern.’’
The documents released Friday indicate that Barclays had been notifying regulators about its concerns regarding the accuracy of the interest rate since 2007. In August that year, a Barclays employee e-mailed a New York Fed official, saying, ‘‘Draw your own conclusions about why people are going for unrealistically low’’ rates.
It was so they could pay out less in swaps to state government agencies and pension funds.
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"As bank scandal roils London, Mass. taxpayers need answers, July 15, 2012
Policymakers should focus in particular on one LIBOR-linked financial product that’s burdening public coffers: the interest-rate swap, a product that allows borrowers to lock in low rates when interest rates seem likely to rise. The downside is that if rates fall, borrowers end up paying much more — and the lower the rates, the more they pay.
Yes, dear readers, the WHOLE SYSTEM has been a MANIPULATED ROBBERY SCHEME!!
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority entered into a dozen interest-rate swap deals. Other state agencies and Harvard University entered into such deals as well.
Because LIBOR and other interest rates plummeted during the financial crisis and have stayed low since, the lower-than-expected rates are costing swap holders millions annually — an estimated $26 million a year for the MBTA alone. Refinancing debt at current rates would make sense if not for the costly exit fees written into swap contracts.
Who wrote those $ELF-$ERVING PROVI$ION$?
Perhaps unknowingly, many banks sold swaps on a false premise....
Yeah, right, Boston Globe! After the intentional deception on the mortgage-backed securities the banks just didn't know, the incompetent crew. If they are that dumb why are they in charge of the economy, huh? Yeah, whatever it was they weren't stealing from us all.
The role of apologist is really getting old.
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"Banks may face rate-rigging case in US; Expected to file charge against one this year" by Ben Protess and Mark Scott | New York Times, July 15, 2012
NEW YORK — As regulators step up their global investigation into the manipulation of interest rates, the US Justice Department has identified potential criminal wrongdoing by big banks and individuals at the center of the scandal.
The department’s criminal division is building cases against several financial institutions and their employees, including traders at Barclays, the British bank, according to government officials close to the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. The authorities expect to file charges against at least one bank later this year, one of the officials said.
I'll believe it when I see it.
The prospect of criminal cases is expected to rattle the banking world and provide a new impetus for financial institutions to settle with the authorities....
Yup, as with the MBS crime, the lying and thieving banks will simply have to pay a chump change fine.
Collectively, the civil and criminal actions could cost the banking industry tens of billions of dollars.
AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!
Yup, the BIG BANKS are BOOMING and JPMorgan just cleared made $5 billion in profit, but the poor banks will be out... SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Authorities around the globe are examining whether financial firms manipulated interest rates before and after the financial crisis to improve their profits and deflect scrutiny about their health.
Investigators in Washington and London sent a warning shot to the industry last month, striking a $450 million settlement with Barclays in a rate-rigging case....
PFFFFT!
The multiyear investigation has ensnared more than 10 big banks in the United States and abroad. With the prospects of criminal action, several firms, including at least two European institutions, are scrambling to arrange deals, according to lawyers close to the case. In part, they are trying to avoid the public outcry that stemmed from the Barclays case, which prompted the resignation of top executives.
Yeah, they ain't doing the right thing, they are $AVING THEIR OWN $KIN$!
The criminal and civil investigations have focused on how banks set the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor. The benchmark, a measure of how much banks charge one another for loans, is used to determine the borrowing costs for trillions of dollars of financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, and student loans. Cities, states, and municipal agencies also are examining whether they had losses from the rate manipulation, and some have filed suit.
With civil actions, regulators can impose fines and force banks to overhaul their internal controls.
But the Justice Department wields an even more potent threat by bringing criminal fraud cases against traders and other employees. If found guilty, they could face jail time.
The criminal investigations come as the public is still simmering over the dearth of prosecutions of prominent executives involved in the mortgage crisis.
I'm beyond simmering, I'm BOILING OVER!!!!!!!!
The continued trouble in the financial sector, including the multibillion-dollar trading losses at JPMorgan Chase, have further fueled the anger of consumers and investors.
But the Libor case presents a potential opportunity for prosecutors. Given the scope of the problems and the number of institutions involved, the rate-rigging investigation could provide a signature moment to hold big banks accountable for their activities during the financial crisis.
Yeah, right. Don't hold your breath.
‘’It’s hard to imagine a bigger case than Libor,’’ said one of the government officials involved in the case.
The Justice Department has jurisdiction over the London bank rate because the benchmark affects markets in the United States. It could not be learned which institutions the criminal division is chasing next.
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"Big bank fights investigation of rate rigging" by Azam Ahmed, Ben Protess and Ian Austen | New York Times, July 17, 2012
Even as lawmakers in London hammered a top Barclays executive over the bank’s role in a rate-rigging scandal, another financial firm that is largely owned by the British government is fighting an investigation into the vast scheme.
The Royal Bank of Scotland, one of more than 10 banks under scrutiny from authorities around the globe, is refusing to turn over crucial information to Canadian regulators, court documents from Ottawa show.
The bank, which is 82 percent owned by the British government, is an unlikely foe.
British lawmakers have taken the lead in publicly shaming executives and regulators who failed to curb interest rate manipulation before and after the 2008 financial crisis. And the pushback comes in contrast to the more conciliatory approach of several institutions ensnared by the global investigation.
Barclays, which last month agreed to pay $450 million to British and American authorities for improperly influencing interest rates, cooperated with the multiyear case. At least two other European institutions are scrambling to strike deals with the authorities, according to lawyers close to the case.
The Canadian court documents, collected over the last year, hinted that two other big banks were aiding authorities. Those banks are UBS and Citigroup, according to people close to the matter.
Many banks are trying to avoid the fallout that has hit Barclays, which has prompted the resignation of two top executives. On Monday, British politicians took aim at one of the Barclays executives, Jerry del Missier, the bank’s former chief operating officer. Barclays was ‘‘up to its armpits in dishonest activity,’’ said Pat McFadden, a British politician who sits on the committee overseeing the testimony.
For its part, the Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday said it was ‘‘cooperating with regulators in their investigations.” But in the court documents, the bank said it was unable to share certain information with Canada’s Competition Bureau because of British law. Further, the bank said that sharing the documents would amount to an ‘‘unreasonable search and seizure’’ and violate its ‘‘privilege against self-incrimination.’’
Hey, us common rabble out here get it all the time, so fuck off!
UBS, the big Swiss bank, is a central target in the broader investigation.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is pursuing a potential civil case against the bank, according to people briefed on the matter. UBS has also already reached an immunity deal with an arm of the Justice Department.
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