Barclays Bank fined for lying and trying to manipulate Libor rates during crisis, worked with other banks to fix rates implying others will fall-BBC

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Update: 6/27, BBC, "More banks face interest rate rigging investigation," "The US Department of Justice also said criminal investigations into "other financial institutions and individuals" was ongoing. Other big names believed to be under investigation include Citigroup, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Barclays' misconduct relates to the daily setting of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor).

These are two of the most important interest rates in the global financial markets and directly influence the value of trillions of dollars of financial deals between banks and other institutions.

They can also affect lending rates to the public, for instance with some mortgage deals."

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"This of course implies that Barclays is simply the first bank to settle and we will see fines and punishments against some of the other big banks of the world."

6/27/12, "Barclays fined for attempts to manipulate Libor rates," BBC

"Barclays has been fined £290m ($450m) for trying to manipulate a key bank interest rate which influences the cost of loans and mortgages.

Its traders lied to make the bank look more secure during the financial crisis and, sometimes - working with traders at other banks - to make a profit."...

BBC Business Editor Analysis:

"Barclays has admitted that a group of traders lied about what it was costing the bank to borrow. Now, why does this matter?

It matters because lots and lots of deals involving clients of Barclays used the interest rate into which Barclays was feeding this information, about its own borrowing costs, to determine the profit and loss on their own deals.

It's quite hard to think of behaviour by a bank as shocking as this: not telling the truth about what it is costing you to borrow, that then becomes a benchmark for pricing other deals.

The statement from the US regulator, which levied a big chunk of the fine, talks about how Barclays was working with other banks to try to fix this interest rate.

This of course implies that Barclays is simply the first bank to settle and we will see fines and punishments against some of the other big banks of the world."

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Ed. note: "I'm shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here." Captain Renault:

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