There's nothing like pulling back the curtain on the fraud that's center stage in the Libor manipulation scandal and finding the levers are really being pulled by central banks.
It's not about the banks doing what they did. The revelation is this: Central banks are the biggest impediment to free markets and the reason capital markets have become casinos.
And until the tyranny of their grip is broken, the majority of public investors are going to rightfully sit on the sidelines and long-term economic growth will be impossible.
The Libor scandal is just a sideshow. There's nothing new there.
Banks manipulated Libor (the London Interbank Offered Rate), the benchmark for over 800 trillion dollars in interest rate-sensitive loans and financial instruments, to jack up profits on trading positions they held.
Bankers scheming, lying and cheating for bigger bonuses at the expense of anyone in their way...that's news?
No, but here's the real inside scoop...
Libor manipulation scandal
Article Index
The Real Villain is the One Behind the Curtain in the Libor Scandal
To continue reading, please click here...
Libor Manipulation Scandal: Who Will Be Next?
Barclays Plc (NYSE ADR: BCS) paid out over $450 million in fines for its role in the Libor manipulation scandal, but who will be the next guilty party?
One thing's for sure: Regulators are on the hunt.
The New York Federal Reserve last week confirmed that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent a memo to British regulators in 2008 over concerns of banks manipulating Libor.
Geithner maintained that he and the Fed sent a long list of recommendations to the Bank of England and the British Bankers' Association, which oversees the Libor-setting process.
In light of the scandal, U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was questioned about the Fed's inaction regarding Libor manipulation at his testimony before Congress on Tuesday.
Bernanke also made clear that the Fed was not aware that Barclays was manipulating the rates for its own profit. Instead the Fed believed the bank was simply manipulating rates to maintain the appearance that everything was fine with the company (which surely wouldn't affect a bank's profit...).
Bernanke insisted the Fed followed up on the disclosures and that in cases like this there is not much more U.S. regulators can do than make suggestions.
One thing's for sure: Regulators are on the hunt.
The New York Federal Reserve last week confirmed that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent a memo to British regulators in 2008 over concerns of banks manipulating Libor.
Geithner maintained that he and the Fed sent a long list of recommendations to the Bank of England and the British Bankers' Association, which oversees the Libor-setting process.
In light of the scandal, U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was questioned about the Fed's inaction regarding Libor manipulation at his testimony before Congress on Tuesday.
Bernanke also made clear that the Fed was not aware that Barclays was manipulating the rates for its own profit. Instead the Fed believed the bank was simply manipulating rates to maintain the appearance that everything was fine with the company (which surely wouldn't affect a bank's profit...).
Bernanke insisted the Fed followed up on the disclosures and that in cases like this there is not much more U.S. regulators can do than make suggestions.
To continue reading, please click here...
Central Banks are the Problem
The Libor scandal is about to get a whole lot worse.
And that's the good news...
Not only are at least 20 more big banks under investigation as part of a massive fraud to manipulate interbank lending rates that affect some $800 trillion in loans and derivatives, but the Bank of England is about to take center stage in the scandal.
And that's bad news for central banks around the world.
Well, actually, it could be good news, as in really good news, if it's the beginning of the end of what central banks do to manipulate free markets to the benefit of their only real constituents, the world's big banks.
First the good news.
It's already come out that traders at Barclays with huge derivatives positions leaned on co-workers who sit on "panels" that submit internal bank borrowing cost data to Thompson Reuters. And Reuters averages the middle lot of submissions to determine Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) "fixings" (not my word, but actually the established nomenclature for what it apparently is that they do... as in "fix" rates). And it's all under the auspices of the British Banking Association.
What's good is that we now know for a fact that the traders (crooks?) were aided and abetted by their co-workers, the submitters (crooks?), who were overseen by managers and top executives who design most of these schemes (crooks?), and were all blessed by the British Banking Association, an illustrious association of 200 some-odd banks, whose many members (crooks?) are panel members submitting crooked (no question mark necessary) data.
Still don't get why that's good news?
Because it's proof there are crooks out there.
And that's the good news...
Not only are at least 20 more big banks under investigation as part of a massive fraud to manipulate interbank lending rates that affect some $800 trillion in loans and derivatives, but the Bank of England is about to take center stage in the scandal.
And that's bad news for central banks around the world.
Well, actually, it could be good news, as in really good news, if it's the beginning of the end of what central banks do to manipulate free markets to the benefit of their only real constituents, the world's big banks.
First the good news.
It's already come out that traders at Barclays with huge derivatives positions leaned on co-workers who sit on "panels" that submit internal bank borrowing cost data to Thompson Reuters. And Reuters averages the middle lot of submissions to determine Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) "fixings" (not my word, but actually the established nomenclature for what it apparently is that they do... as in "fix" rates). And it's all under the auspices of the British Banking Association.
What's good is that we now know for a fact that the traders (crooks?) were aided and abetted by their co-workers, the submitters (crooks?), who were overseen by managers and top executives who design most of these schemes (crooks?), and were all blessed by the British Banking Association, an illustrious association of 200 some-odd banks, whose many members (crooks?) are panel members submitting crooked (no question mark necessary) data.
Still don't get why that's good news?
Because it's proof there are crooks out there.
To continue reading, please click here...
Libor Manipulation Scandal Stings Barclays and Parliament
Barclays Plc (NYSE ADR: BCS) was dealt another blow Thursday to its already tarnished reputation, as the ripple effects continue from its Libor manipulation scandal. Moody's and Standard & Poor's, while maintaining their ratings on the bank, slashed their outlook from "stable" to "negative," a precursor to an actual ratings downgrade. Fitch was a bit […]
The Libor Manipulation Scandal Has Been Brewing for Years
The Barclays Libor manipulation scandal is the latest development out of a huge investigation in the global banking industry - one that would have started years earlier, if Money Morning's Shah Gilani was in charge of it.
You see, Libor rates are incredibly important. They're the benchmark, or "reference," rates for hundreds of trillions of dollars in loans.
They are so important that even a 0.10% error or "manipulation" in calculations could impact billions of dollars.
That's why Gilani has been warning Money Morning readers of the risks of Libor manipulation since 2008.
"Gilani was among the earliest proponents of the theory that the contributing banks may have rigged the calculation of LIBOR," wrote Securities industry lawyer and Wall Street regulation critic Bill Singer in 2011. "Gilani warned that such activities were likely antitrust violations and were exposing major international banks to legal liability."
How Libor Manipulation Began
As Gilani explained in October 2008, how banks manipulate Libor isn't an incredibly complex event. That's because loan rate reporting is based on the honor system.
Or dishonor, in some cases.
You see, Libor rates are incredibly important. They're the benchmark, or "reference," rates for hundreds of trillions of dollars in loans.
They are so important that even a 0.10% error or "manipulation" in calculations could impact billions of dollars.
That's why Gilani has been warning Money Morning readers of the risks of Libor manipulation since 2008.
"Gilani was among the earliest proponents of the theory that the contributing banks may have rigged the calculation of LIBOR," wrote Securities industry lawyer and Wall Street regulation critic Bill Singer in 2011. "Gilani warned that such activities were likely antitrust violations and were exposing major international banks to legal liability."
How Libor Manipulation Began
As Gilani explained in October 2008, how banks manipulate Libor isn't an incredibly complex event. That's because loan rate reporting is based on the honor system.
Or dishonor, in some cases.
To continue reading, please click here...