First published 2014
Erin Arvedlund exposes the LIBOR manipulation scandal that erupted during the 2008 financial crisis. While Wall Street grabbed headlines, a group of London bankers was quietly rigging the world's most important interest rate. The London Interbank Offered Rate was supposed to reflect what banks charged each other for loans, setting rates for trillions in global contracts. Instead, it became a web of lies and guesswork as traders protected their firms and helped their friends. Arvedlund reveals how an informal honor system allowed young traders to manipulate numbers while their bosses looked away. She follows key figures like UBS trader Tom Hayes, Barclays CEO Bob Diamond, and Bank of England governor Mervyn King through a scandal that cost victims up to one trillion dollars. The book shows how elite firms like Barclays, UBS, and Citigroup hurt ordinary people paying mortgages, taking loans, and investing for retirement. Arvedlund demonstrates how regulators failed to act despite warnings, allowing a small group of competitors to game the system through mutual back scratching.
Genres: business, crime, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, finance
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, investigation, systemic-failure
Setting: Barclays, Bank of England, Citigroup, London, UBS, Wall Street
Period: 2008 Financial Crisis
304 pages · Hardcover · Portfolio