See how greed unfolds and how people callous people are!
‘Devastating emails today lay bare how top banks rigged crucial interest rates to mask the scale of their bad debts.
They show how bonus-hungry traders promised each other bottles of Bollinger champagneto fix the figures that affect millions of homeowners and small firms.
HOW BARCLAYS TRADERS CONSPIRED TO FIX THE MARKETS
Between 2005 and 2009, more than 200 requests were sent, usually by email or instant messenger – by traders to the Barclays Libor submitters.
In one example of several provided by the FSA, a trader emailed the Barclays Libor submitter in March 2006, writing: ‘The big day [has] arrived… My NYK are screaming at me about an unchanged 3(month) libor. As always, any help wd be greatly appreciated. What do you think you’ll go for 3(month)?’
The submitter replied: ‘I am going 90 altho 91 is what I should be posting.’
The trader thanked him, saying: ‘..when I retire and write a book about this business your name will be written in golden letters.’
The submitter then replied: ‘I would prefer this [to] not be in any book!’
In another example from April 2006, a trader requested low one month and three month US dollar Libor rates shortly before the submission was due.
He asked: ‘If it’s not too late low 1m and 3m would be nice, but please feel free to say “no”… Coffees will be coming your way either way, just to say thank you for your help in the past few weeks.’
The submitter replied: ‘Done… for you big boy.’
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“Last night – as Barclays was fined a record £290million for its part in the scandal – MPs said the police should be called in to investigate the ‘appalling’ conduct.
The conspiracy involved interest rates on the wholesale money markets, where banks lend to each other.
Traders colluded to set artifically low rates to con the markets into believing the banks were in good financial shape in the run-up to the credit crunch.
Fixing the figures also allowed bankers to make money by taking out bets on the way the rates would move.
The wholesale rates affect homeowners because they influence how much they pay on variable rate loans and mortages.
Yesterday senior executives at Barclays said they would give up their bonuses for this year as a result of the record fine.
But the City regulator said other banks were caught up in the probe – with Lloyds, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland admitting they were also being investigated.
The revelations throw fresh scrutiny on an industry already marred by public outrage at sky-high bonuses, mis-selling scandals and the RBS computer glitch chaos.
In one of the emails, a trader at a different bank wrote to ‘Trader G’ at Barclays: ‘Dude. I owe you big time! Come over one day after work and I’m opening a bottle of Bollinger.’
Other emails revealed how they would ‘shout’ across the desk at each other to ‘beg’ for the interest rate to be fixed at a certain level in the hope of making millions for themselves.
Another said: ‘Coffees will be coming your way either way, just to say thank you for your help in the past few weeks.’
His colleague replied: ‘Done…for you big boy.’
The devastating 44-page dossier, published by the Financial Services Authority, revealed the ruthless tactics used by traders to try to fix the wholesale rates – known as the London Interbank Rate (Libor) and the European Interbank Rate (Euribor).
Sorry: Chief executive Bob Diamond apologised for the incident and will forgo his bonus this yearThey wanted to keep the rates artificially low as a high Libor rate suggests a bank is weaker than other banks because it is being charged a higher rate of interest to borrow money.
It is understood that between ten and 20 rogue dealers were involved, all of whom are being or have been dismissed.
Last night the chairman of the Commons Treasury committee Andrew Tyrie said Mr Diamond would be summoned to explain what had happened.
‘This is appalling. It just beggars belief that this sort of attitude should have been so widespread,’ he told Channel 4 News.
‘The crucial thing now is to make sure that it is being cleared up. That is why we will be calling in (Barclays chief executive) Bob Diamond to make sure that what’s required had been done in Barclays to improve the culture.
‘Banks were clearly acting in concert. I fear it’s not going to be the end of the story, that we are going to find that other banks have been involved.’
But Labour’s financial spokesman Chris Leslie said the situation was so serious it may have to go ‘beyond the regulators and into a criminal investigation’.
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