Barclays and LIBOR: Anatomy of a Scandal

1.What is LIBOR and how was it used?

2.How were submitters able to manipulate the LIBOR?

3.How did traders benefit from manipulating LIBOR?

4.What factors contributed to the manipulation of the LIBOR by individual traders?

5.What strategies should a firm like Barclays use to make sure that rate manipulation doesn't occur?

6.What does "head above the parapet" mean in the context of this case?

7.How would you characterize the relationship between submitters and traders?

8.Suppose you are a Barclays trader or rate submitter who is opposed to manipulation - what can you do to avoid behaving unethically? Do you have a responsibility to take actions to prevent manipulation by others in your firm?

9.During the credit crisis, Barclays decided not to have its "head above the parapet." Who within the firm should have responsibility for making such a decision?

10.The manipulation of the LIBOR can be broken down into three phases.What were these and how did they differ in terms of motivation and moral justification?