巴克莱利率操纵丑闻引发政治风暴

Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, was engulfed in a political firestorm following revelations of his bank’s attempts to rig market interest rates for financial gain, sending shares in Britain’s biggest bank down almost 16 per cent.

巴克莱(Barclays)首席执行官鲍勃·戴蒙德(Bob Diamond)卷入了一场政治风暴，原因是该行被曝光试图操纵市场利率，以换取经济方面的好处。受此影响，这家英国最大银行的股价重挫近16%。

The fierce political reaction followed Barclays’ decision to pay fines of $450m to settle investigations by regulators in the US and UK into attempted manipulation by banks around the world of the London interbank offered rate, used to set the price of everything from home loans to credit card fees.

巴克莱同意缴纳4.5亿美元的罚款，以了结英美监管机构的相关调查，此事引发了强烈的政治反应。此前，监管者在全世界范围内，对那些试图操纵伦敦银行间同业拆借利率(Libor)的银行进行了调查。该利率是住房贷款、信用卡费用等众多金融产品的定价标准。

“People have to take responsibility for their actions and show how they’re going to be accountable for those actions, David Cameron, prime minister, said after his chancellor, George Osborne, had questioned in parliament what the Barclays boss knew and when. “It’s very important that goes all the way to the top of the organisation.

英国首相戴维·卡梅伦(David Cameron)表示，“人们必须为他们的所做作为承担责任，必须让外界看到他们将如何对这些行为做出解释。他还说，“这家公司的高层需要了解到这一点，这很重要。在此之前，英国财政大臣乔治·奥斯本(George Osborne)在议会对戴蒙德事先知晓哪些情况以及何时知晓等问题，提出了质疑。

The UK bank is one of nearly 20 institutions under investigation by regulators on three continents in connection with interbank lending rates. It co-operated with enforcers early and received a discount from the UK’s Financial Services Authority. UBS and Citigroup have both been disciplined by Japanese regulators and banks including HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Scotland have also been mentioned in court documents.

监管者对三个大陆上的近20家机构展开了与银行间拆借利率相关的调查，巴克莱是其中的一家。这家英国银行配合执行人员的调查，英国金融服务管理局(Financial Services Authority)因此减轻了对其的罚款。瑞银(UBS)和花旗(Citigroup)都曾遭到过日本监管机构的处罚，此外，包括汇丰(HSBC)、加拿大皇家银行(RBC)和苏格兰皇家银行(RBS)在内的数家银行也出现在了法庭文件中。

News of the Barclays fine emerged on Wednesday, but it was only when politicians had digested the scale and significance of the attempted Libor-fixing that the issue exploded and markets took fright. Barclays made no further comment yesterday. On Wednesday, Mr Diamond and three top lieutenants said they would waive their bonuses this year to “reflect our collective responsibility as leaders.

巴克莱被开罚单一事周三就已浮出水面，但直到政界人士领悟到Libor操纵案的规模及其重要影响之后，此事才开始迅速发酵，并引发了市场恐慌。巴克莱昨日并未发表进一步的评论。周三，戴蒙德和其他三位高管表示，他们将放弃今年的奖金，以“反映我们作为领导者的集体责任。

Mr Osborne said the scandal went far beyond Barclays and that the “story of irresponsibility is not over yet. He announced plans to tighten up sanctions against bankers who break the rules. Mr Diamond will be summoned next month to appear before MPs to explain his role in the affair.

奥斯本指出，丑闻远远不只限于巴克莱，“失职事件尚未结束。他宣布了加大对违规银行家惩罚力度的计划。戴蒙德下月将接受传唤，届时，他将需就自己在此事中的角色向议员们作出解释。

Some shareholders and Barclays executives, keen to protect Mr Diamond, believe the chairman, Marcus Agius, should consider resigning. The chancellor is now considering calling a public inquiry into the affair, a tribunal that could force bankers to explain what Mr Osborne called a culture of “systematic greed in the City in the middle of the last decade.

一些极力维护戴蒙德的股东和巴克莱高管认为，董事长马库斯·阿吉斯(Marcus Agius)应考虑辞职。眼下，奥斯本正考虑就此事开展公共调查，这一决定将迫使银行家对这样一个现象作出解释，即：2000年至2010年这十年的中期，被奥斯本称为“系统性贪婪的伦敦金融城文化。

Aides said the FSA would have to finish its investigation first and that it was premature to say whether a public inquiry would be held.

助理人员表示，英国金融服务管理局必须首先完成自身的调查工作，现在决定是否开展公共调查还为时过早。