Bob Diamond last night implicated large parts of the Establishment in the rate-fixing scandal.
In a spectacular act of revenge, the fallen financial titan turned on the Bank of England, Whitehall officials and the last Labour government.
His former bank Barclays published documents suggesting the Bank of England leant on him to push down the Libor rate that affects the price of loans and financial products everywhere.
Senior Whitehall figures had expressed concern about the high rates being reported by Barclays and wanted them lowered, according to the memos.
A key email suggested Barclays was alone in reporting high borrowing costs in 2008, while rival banks were underestimating theirs.
Paul Tucker, the Bank of England deputy governor who discussed the issue in a 2008 telephone call with Mr Diamond, and a string of former Labour ministers now face tough questions over what they knew and when.
Today Mr Tucker requested to appear before the Treasury Select Committee to tell his side of the story.
Mr Diamond, who resigned as Barclays chief executive yesterday following days of pressure, will give further evidence to Parliament today.
The scandal hit Barclays’ share price again this morning as their value fell by 2.25 per cent. Adding to the drag on Banking stocks were the growing calls banks’ retail departments to be split from the riskier ‘casino’ investment arms.
Related posts:
- Barclays Bank Gets World’s Biggest Fine for Manipulating Interest Rates
- 20 more banks were rigging interest rates: British bankers now facing criminal inquiry over scandal that was kept secret for years
- BBC News – More Banks Face Interest Rate Rigging Investigation
- Barclays signed a NON PROSECUTION AGREEMENT with the Justice Department
- ZeroHedge: Barclays Chairman Is Lie-borgate’s First Victim
