Bob Diamond, Chief Executive Officer of British bank Barclays, announced his resignation today, a week after the financial institution was charged a record fine for manipulation of Libor and Euribor interest rates, according to BBC. Diamond announced that he resigned because the external pressures on the bank he heads were threatening the financial institution. Also, Bob Diamond will be questioned in the following day, by the Finance Committee members in the Libor investigation. The former chief of the bank said that he looks forward to meet his obligations.
Chief Operations Officer Jerry del Missier has also resigned; he is the third executive of the bank who resigned within two days. The Chairman of the British banking group Barclays Plc, Marcus Agius, who resigned yesterday said that the scandal regarding the possible Libor and Euribor interest rate manipulation had a devastating impact on the reputation of the bank and he will give up his position as “the responsibility is not transferable”. Agius, who has been Chairman of Barclays for five years and half will remain in office until the appointment of a successor. The scandal of possible manipulation of Libor and Euribor rates determined pressure from shareholders who have demanded the resignation of the Barclays Chairman, Marcus Agius, and the Chief Executive Officer of the British bank, Bob Diamond.
Barclays Representatives announced last week that the bank has reached an agreement with U.S. and U.K regulators, after they have started in March an unprecedented investigation of possible manipulation of Libor and Euribor rates. As a result of the settlement, Barclays, rated as the second largest bank in the UK have to pay penalties of £290 million to end the investigation in question.
Euribor interest rate is set by 44 banks and is used as a benchmark for loans and other financial instruments worth trillions euro. Libor is the interest rate on interbank lending market in London. Libor interest rates are fixed daily by the British Bankers Association, based on data it receives from a group of banks. Libor is a benchmark for financial products worth over $350,000 billion, making it one of the most followed index in the world.
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