I
discussed the issue of ‘lowballing’ a year ago (see link below) and things have
a taken a further twist.
Lowballing was essentially a further banking scandal involving banks
fraudulently (shock!) manipulating the interbank Libor lending rate for their
own financial gain. This wasn’t policed properly by the regulator, an
opportunity was found by the banks to make money illegally and (quelle surprise)
money was made.
But here’s the twist……a year on and the Bank of England has now
launched an internal investigation as it appears that staff “knew of or
condoned” the fraudulent activity.
The Bank of England are the guardian of the UK’s currency and, as the main bank
regulator, are responsible for ensuring the safety and soundness of UK banks.
However, London can’t promote itself as a major financial hub (it is the
largest foreign exchange trading platform in the world) yet be riddled with
corruption that would make a third world country wince.
I can (to a point) accept incompetence from
the bank regulator but I cannot accept knowingly being dishonest.
As
we have seen over the past 5 years (and beyond), if you give the banking sector
enough rope, it will ultimately hang itself.
Is
it too much to ask for the regulator to avoid similar behaviour?
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