28/06/2012
Barclays pays huge fines
The British Barclays bank on 27 June announced that it will be paying a fine of GBP290m to settle legal investigations in the United Kingdom and the United States, and its head has confessed and agreed not to accept a bonus this year. The bank says in a statement that it has settled amicably with several financial regulatory authorities, as part of an investigation of the entire banking sector in the matter of the setting of interbank interest rates on a series of derivatives. In another statement, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) says that it has fined the bank GBP59.5m for represensible conduct in relation to interbank reference rates on the London market, the Libor and for the European interbank rate (Euribor). It says that it is the largest fine ever imposed by the FSA. In addition to the FSA, Barclays reports that it has also reached settlements in the United States with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Justice Department. The latter has also granted Barclays immunity in investigations into violations at competing banks. Following this case, and to reflect his collective responsibility as director, the CEO of Barclays, Bob Diamond, has announced that he has decided to forego his bonus this year. Three other members of management have taken the same decision: the CFO, Chris Lucas, the COO, Jerry del Missier, and the executive director in charge of investment banking, Rich Ricci.
