World’s biggest banks accused of rigging rates

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued the British Bankers Association and 16 of the world’s largest banks for rigging the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), the rate at which banks supposedly lend each other money.

LIBOR matters because it is the benchmark for setting interest rates on many different kinds of loans around the world.  Bill Black, an expert on financial fraud, wrote that LIBOR is used for setting interest rates for $300 trillion to $500 trillion in outstanding loans at any given time.

The defendants include the three largest U.S. banks, the four largest U.K. banks and the largest banks in Germany and Japan.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2014/03/libor-the-worlds-most-dishonest-number/

Tags: Banksters, LIBOR, London Interbank Offered Rate, Rigged Interest Rates, Wall Street