Barclays fined £290m in Libor settlement as Diamond loses bonus

Barclays bank will pay at least $450m (£288m) to US and British authorities to settle a probe into manipulation of the Libor interbank lending rate.

Regulators have been investigating allegations that several banks, including Barclays, sought to manipulate the London Interbank Lending Rate (Libor), which underpins trillions of dollars of derivatives contracts worldwide and is also widely used as a reference rate for corporate lending.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Barclays attempted to manipulated Libor submissions “sometimes on a daily basis” over a four-year period starting in 2005.

The fines will be paid to the US Department of Justice, the US Commodities Futures and Trading Commission and Britain’s Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The FSA will receive £59.5m, the largest fine it has ever issued.

As a result of the payout Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has agreed to give up his bonus for 2012.