Barclays- Diamond Corrupts

Made-In-London Scandals Risk City’s Reputation As Finance Center

By Kevin Crowley and Ambereen Choudhury - Jul 6, 2012 4:31 AM GMT+0530

London risks losing its status as the world’s top financial center as the $360 trillion interest-rate fixing probe follows a series of market abuses by banks that eroded trust in a city already shrinking faster than rivals.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s trading loss of at least $2 billion, the alleged $2.3 billion fraud atUBS AG (UBSN) and the investigation of at least a dozen banks including Barclays Plc (BARC)for rigging global interest rates all happened in London in the last year. The effect is taking a toll on the capital of a country enduring its first double-dip recession since the 1970s, which fired more financial-services workers than any other country in 2011 and again this year………………

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-05/made-in-london-scandals-risk-city-s-reputation-as-finance-center.html

Barclays Corrupts Libor and Maybe a Lot More

If Barclays Plc (BARC) would lie about its borrowing costs, what else would it lie about?

That question gets to the heart of the damage Barclays did to itself by submitting false numbers for years to the British Bankers’ Association as part of the surveys used to set the London interbank offered rate, the benchmark for $360 trillion of financial instruments globally. The most important asset any bank has is trust -- especially when it comes to the figures on its own financial statements. Whatever credibility Barclays had, it’s been poured down the drain like last night’s suds. …………………http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-05/barclays-corrupts-libor-and-maybe-a-lot-more.html

Diamond Would Be Catch For Investment, Private Equity

By Carol Hymowitz and Ambereen Choudhury - Jul 4, 2012 12:30 PM GMT+0530

If Robert Diamond can’t recover in banking after resigning as Barclays Plc (BARC)’s chief executive officer amid the firm’s record regulatory fines, he would still be a sought-after prospect in another field: investment funds.

Diamond, 60, could easily start a new career at a private- equity firm or hedge fund, according to executive recruiters in the U.S. and the U.K. It’s a path worn by ousted heads of financial firms including former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd. Diamond’s chance of getting another job leading a big, publicly traded bank is slim, the recruiters said.

“Private equity will snap him up because they’re not regulated by the same rules as banks, and Diamond’s got the money and experience to help them buy and run financial institutions,” said Pat Cook, who heads search firm Cook & Co. in Bronxville,New York. “I don’t think a public company will touch him with a 10-foot pole,” she said

Diamond stepped down from Britain’s second-biggest bank yesterday amid mounting political furor over its 290 million- pound ($455 million) settlement of U.K. and U.S. probes into attempting rigging of the London and euro interbank offered rates. He joins at least two dozen top executives at the world’s largest financial firms who’ve vacated corner offices following losses or accusations of mismanagement since 2007.

Mudd, 53, who was dismissed from Fannie Mae when the government seized control of the mortgage-finance firm, went on to lead New York-based private-equity and hedge-fund manager Fortress Investment Group LLC. He left that post in January amid a government lawsuit stemming from his Fannie Mae tenure.………….

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-04/diamond-would-be-catch-for-investment-private-equity.html

`A Lot More To Come Out' On Libor Rigging, Skinner Says (Video)

Jul 5, 2012 5:37 AM GMT+0530

Chris Skinner, chairman of the Financial Services Club and chief executive officer of Balatro Ltd., talks about Barclays Plc (BARC) Chief Executive Officer Robert Diamond's testimony yesterday.

Barclays, the U.K.’s second-largest bank by assets, was fined a record 290 million pounds ($453 million) on June 25 for rigging Libor, a global benchmark. Lawmakers sought to determine precisely what Diamond, 60, knew about the affair. Skinner speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-05/-a-lot-more-to-come-out-on-libor-rigging-skinner-says-video-.html