Professional & Financial Lines (LIBOR manipulation coverage) - August 2012

LIBOR manipulation coverage

Treasury Select Committee Report

The Treasury Select Committee's rate-fixing investigation revealed a "deeply wrong" culture at Barclays, stating that the "attempted manipulation of LIBOR should not be dismissed as being only the behaviour of a small group of rogue traders." The MPs criticised Barclays for exhibiting serious failures of internal governance which allowed weak compliance and controls procedures, and stated that the rate-fixing had been systematic.

The Committee's report also criticised the FSA for its inadequate monitoring of the financial services market in the UK, noting that the US regulatory investigation into rate-fixing commenced a full two years prior to the one in the UK. The 122-page report stated that this delay contributed to the perception of "weakness" in London's financial regulation. The FSA has responded that Martin Wheatley, FSA Managing Director, will address the issues raised in the report in his