Row grows as chancellor accuses Balls of Libor role July 4, 2012 Senior Labour politicians fiercely denied any involvement in the Libor fixing scandal yesterday, after George Osborne said those around Gordon Brown “were clearly involved” in rate rigging, and former Barclays boss Bob Diamond said the bank was in regular contact with ministers. Meanwhile Labour MPs said Bob Diamond’s failure to answer all the Treasury select [...]
Pity Osborne isn’t this passionate when talking about growth July 4, 2012 WHAT a shame. Yesterday’s grilling of Bob Diamond, Barclays’ swashbuckling former boss, while not quite a damp squib, did not really clarify a great deal. There were some intriguing revelations – including that the relationship between the FSA and Barclays had been bad for months and that Diamond was worried that the government would nationalise [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES VW to buy rest of Porsche for €4.46bn Volkswagen has agreed to buy the remaining half of Porsche’s carmaking operations that it does not already own for €4.46bn. The two car groups yesterday finalised plans to speed up the creation of the combined car group. The integration will take effect from 1 August. [...]
MPs furious at slippery Bob’s question dodge July 4, 2012 BOB Diamond frustrated MPs yesterday by failing to answer critical questions and raising more questions about the bank’s actions. Treasury select committee (TSC) chairman Andrew Tyrie called Diamond’s recollections “somewhat implausible,” and said he hopes to speak to the Bank of England’s Paul Tucker “very shortly” to find out more details. Tucker has asked the [...]
THE RISE AND FALL OF BOB DIAMOND July 4, 2012 1996 Bob Diamond is appointed chief executive of Barclays Global Markets. 1997 Barclays founds BarCap investment bank from its Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW) unit. Diamond is involved from the start. 2005 Barclays traders start to manipulate the London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor) while Diamond heads the British bank’s investment banking operations. 2008 Barclays refuses [...]
Diamond gives MPs a lesson in evasiveness July 4, 2012 PROTESTERS in Robin Hood costumes chanted their disapproval, armed police patrolled the corridors and members of the Treasury select committee limbered up for battle. The circus was waiting for its star attraction – one Robert Diamond Jr. – to kick off the greatest show in financial regulation history. And then the questioning began. Hamstrung by [...]
Tucker keen to give his side of Libor phone call July 4, 2012 BANK of England deputy governor Paul Tucker made a pre-emptive strike to distance himself from the Libor fixing scandal yesterday, asking to give his own evidence to MPs on the topic “as soon as possible”. Before ex-Barclays boss Bob Diamond had even appeared at the Treasury select committee (TSC) yesterday, Tucker raced to clear his [...]
It isn’t just Diamond that missed Libor’s warning signs July 4, 2012 MICHAEL Fallon of the Treasury select committee voiced a question yesterday that must be on many people’s lips. After passing on Paul Tucker’s message from the Bank of England in October 2008, how did Bob Diamond manage to know so little for so long about the Libor manipulation at Barclays that followed? Diamond dodged, “I [...]
Analysts argue lawsuits from Libor are unlikely to succeed July 4, 2012 LAWSUITS against Barclays linked to Libor-fixing are unlikely to succeed based on yesterday’s evidence to the Treasury select committee, analysts have said. Barclays’ finance boss has told analysts that the bank has “not suffered any deposit flight as a result of recent events” during a conference call. And number crunchers at Espirito Santo Investment Bank [...]
Cameron: No diamond pay-off July 4, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday weighed into the debate over Bob Diamond’s bonuses, arguing that the former Barclays chief executive should not be paid a golden goodbye. Speaking before the Commons, Cameron said it would be “inexplicable to the public” and “completely wrong” for Diamond to receive a pay-off after resigning from the bank, which was fined [...]
