RATE-RIGGING SCANDAL: as The Slog predicted, detection of the scam is going global.
Mood changing rapidly towards a full Glass-Steagal separation of retail and investment banking
By the Slog
The German regulatory equivalent of the FSA, BaFIN, on Friday announced an investigation into Libor/Euribor fraud. Reuters I think had the story first after Der Spiegel, which noted ‘Two Deutsche Bank employees have been suspended after it used external auditors to examine whether staff were involved in manipulating interbank lending rates.’
Yesterday, I posted at length about the blindingly obvious connotations of the FSA’s basis for accusing Barclays – viz, that it was more concerted, international and longstanding than either the MSM or the Tory Party care to admit. This has now been recognised by Brussels, which is mullig new criminal laws a proposal to cover ‘the manipulation of market indices across the EU and a fundamental review of the rules on how Libor is set.’
Michel Barnier, the EU commissioner overseeing financial services, will amend reforms to EU market abuse rules so that potential “loopholes” are closed and criminal sanctions to specifically cover lying about Libor and Euribor. Yesterday, Barnier called mendacious reportig of such benchmark rates a “betrayal” with potentially “systemic consequences”.
And in the US, Barney Frank told the FT that banks “monkeying” with Libor for their own benefit was “outrageous”.
