Lord Turner attacks "cynical greed" of Libor traders
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FSA chairman Lord Adair Turner has attacked the “cynical greed” of traders in the banking industry in the wake of the Libor scandal.
Last month, the regulator fined Barclays £59.5m for manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate. RBS, HSBC, UBS and Citibank are also under investigation for alleged interest rate rigging.
Earlier today, Bob Diamond resigned as Barclays chief executive. The Serious Fraud Office is considering bringing criminal prosecutions over the manipulation of interest rates by banks.
Addressing the FSA’s annual public meeting in London today, Lord Turner (pictured) says: “The Libor scandal has caused a huge blow to the reputation of the banking industry.
“The cynical greed of traders asking their colleagues to falsify their Libor submissions so that they could make bigger profits – has justifiably shocked and angered people, in particular when we are facing hard economic times provoked by the financial crisis.
“But sadly it is clear that the behaviours evidenced in the Libor case were not, in the years before the crisis, confined to this specific area of financial activity.”
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Readers' comments (3)
Erm... | 3 Jul 2012 1:53 pm
I watched Lord Turner on the Andrew Marr programme last Sunday morning. When Mr Marr asked how the FSA became aware of the issues Lord Turner replied by saying they heard a rumour and this was often the way they discovered things. Heard a rumour! Come on FSA if you need to be waiting to be told what is going on then you're not doing your job properly. Get proactive and sort out the thieves and vagabonds so that those of us who try to follow the rules and earn an honest living do not get tarred with the same brush as those who don't.
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greatgiginthesky | 3 Jul 2012 3:46 pm
Well sair Erm I was expecting the insightful Andrew Marr to question Lord Turner on how much a regulator with a budget half a billion spent on the rumour mill!!! beggars belief
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Sean O'Farrell | 4 Jul 2012 3:29 pm
Would I get any support if I mentioned that the vilified Traders who manipulated the LIBOR to increase their profits and earn bonuses were then taxed on these bonuses (to the public's benefit) and the banks that also made profits from them would also have paid tax on these profits in the UK too?
As all the UK banks are involved in setting the LIBORS, the net losers would likely be those banks who don't set LIBORs who are mainly foreign banks who repatriate their profits (not to the benefit of the UK taxpayer).
So the UK taxpayer has benefitted.
Anyone join me in starting the campaign to get Bob Diamond an OBE?
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