Lloyds Bank fined £218m over Libor scandal

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has been fined £218 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and US regulators for serious misconduct of four employees related to the Libor rigging scandal, the Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS) and the Repo Rate benchmark.

The bank, along with others punished for manipulating London interbank offered rate (Libor) for dollar, yen and sterling, has been fined £105 million by the FCA, £61.7 million by the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission and £50 million by the US Department of Justice.

Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said, “The abuse of the SLS is a novel feature of this case but the underlying conduct and the underlying failings – to identify, mitigate and monitor for obvious risks – are not new.

“If trust in financial services is to be restored then market participants need to ensure they are learning the lessons from, and avoiding the mistakes of, their peers.”

Lloyds Banking Group’s chairman Lord Blackwell commented, “The board regards the actions of these individuals between 2006 and 2009 as completely unacceptable.

“I am also convinced that it is entirely unrepresentative of the vast majority of our staff who are committed to delivering outstanding service and doing the right thing for customers, recognising that trust is at the core of our business.”

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Barclays, along with Dutch bank Rabobank, Swiss bank UBS and money brokers Icap and RP Martin have already been fined in relation to the Libor scandal.

Commenting on the fines, Charlotte Webster, campaign manager at Move Your Money, said, “Lloyds £218 million Libor penalty is a reminder that two years after the scandal broke with Barclays, the British banking system remains very broken. Many banks, including HSBC, are yet to be fined, with victims of this global fraud yet to be identified.

“The big five banks prove time and time again they are too big to be reformed and refuse to change their ways, which is why so many are moving their money. There are better options out there. Customers fed up with mis-selling and fraud are encouraged to review the Move Your Money bank switching scorecard and move their money to a bank, building society or credit union that reflects their own values.”

Photo: ell brown via Flickr

Further reading:

Lloyds Libor-rigging scandal settlement reaches late stage

Six more traders face criminal charges for Libor rigging

Bob Diamond among Barclays exec called to give evidence in Libor trail

Dutch bank Rabobank faces Libor fine of nearly $1bn

The Guide to Sustainable Banking 2013