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Monday, July 28, 2014

The Banksters Caught Again

Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £218m for "serious misconduct". Lloyds manipulated the London interbank offered rate (Libor) for yen and sterling and tried to rig the rate for yen, sterling and the US dollar. It also manipulated submissions for another short-term rate linked to the value of UK government debt.

"Such manipulation is highly reprehensible, clearly unlawful and may amount to criminal conduct on the part of the individuals involved," Bank of England chief  Carney wrote. Will we witness any actual court proceedings against anybody but the lowly servants of the Boards of Directors? SOYMB doubt it very much

Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland have previously paid $453m and $612m in fines related to the scandal.

 Meanwhile ‘Virtuous Banking: Placing ethos and purpose at the heart of banking’ report by the think-tank ResPublica will be launched on Tuesday by the chairman of the Banking Standards Review Council, Sir Richard Lambert. It calls for bankers to take a solemn oath  "I will do my utmost to behave in a manner that prioritises the needs of customers...It is my first duty to provide an exemplary quality of service to my customers and to exhibit a duty of care above and beyond what is required by law...I will confront profligacy and impropriety wherever I encounter it, for the conduct of bankers can have dramatic consequence for society."

 Fat chance. Banking executive are already under a legal obligation to place the interests of stock-holders ahead of supposed society’s interests. And we must ask why should such an oath be limited to just one particular industry and not extended to all businesses.

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