Regulators focus on EURIBOR manipulation

After Barclays was fined 290m pounds for manipulating LIBOR, regulators are now focusing on its European equivalent, EURIBOR (euro-based intebank lending rate set in Brussels via the averaging of bank submissions). Barclays once again is to be the main culprit although the investigation also involves Crédit Agricole, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, according to sources quoted by The Financial Times (FT).According to the paper, Barclays's former euroswaps trader Philippe Moryoussef is being investigated. Moryoussef worked for the British bank from 2005 to 2007 and is accused of using a strategy that involved fixing the Euribor. The FT notes that the alleged involvement of Crédit Agricole, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale actually predates the financial crisis by several years, suggesting that there were actually two very different periods of rigging. The first was simply for trading gains while the second's purpose would be to give the appearance of broader financial stability during the crisis.JM