UK PM orders bank rate scandal inquiry

Cameron described the revelations as a “scandal” saying a parliamentary committee of inquiry headed by the chairman of the Treasury Committee Andrew Tyrie will investigate the issue.

Barclays was fined a record £290m last week and its chairman Marcus Agius resigned after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) revealed that the bank had attempted to manipulate the interbank lending rate, Libor, between 2005 and 2009 by lying about the interest rates other banks were charging it for loans.

Through pretending the Libor reading was lower than it actually was, Barclays would give the impression of having a better lending risk than it actually had.

“I want us to establish a full parliamentary committee of inquiry involving both Houses chaired by the Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee,” Cameron said.

“This inquiry will take evidence under oath have full access to papers, officials and Ministers – including Ministers and Special advisers from the last government,” he added.

However, others including the Labour party and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called for an independent inquiry saying an investigation by politicians into bankers will not please the public.

“The Government’s reluctant conversion to a new parliamentary inquiry into banking is a welcome recognition of public anger, but still falls short of a proper judge-led inquiry immune from the party politics and lobbying that surround any parliamentary process,” TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said.

“The fact is banks stopped servicing the UK economy properly long before the crash. We need a banking sector that does far more of its core job – supporting consumers and businesses – and far less of the socially-useless financial wizardry that got us into this mess,” he added.

AMR/HE

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