Professional & Financial Lines - LIBOR Bulletin

LIBOR manipulation coverage

Investigations and regulator action

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has issued a consultation paper responding to the proposal made in the Wheatley Report that the number of currencies and maturities for which submissions are made should be cut substantially. The paper proposes that most LIBOR rates be phased out by April 2013, with the aim being to reduce the number of rates from 150 to 30. The BBA has recommended that 30 rates be kept following discussions it has had with market stakeholders. The only currencies which the BBA proposes to keep are the Euro, Japanese Yen, Pound Sterling, Swiss Franc and US Dollar rate LIBOR.

Reports indicate that the SFO is likely to arrest former traders and rate setters at UBS, RBS and Barclays, and will do so within the next month, as prosecutors step up efforts to investigate the manipulation of LIBOR. The SFO investigation, which commenced in July following a request from British lawmakers,