LIBOR Scandal and Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Who Benefits from the Manipulation of LIBOR Free Essay Example, 1000 words

As a leader, how should you respond when you know that your competitors are cheating? How should you respond when you think regulators are asking you to cheat? Barclays could not have achieved manipulating the LIBOR without the carelessness of the regulatory authorities. The swap traders of Barclays had also facilitated altering the LIBOR rates. Investigation into the case clearly revealed that the company had undergone a planned manipulation. The administrative authorities should have monitored the activities of traders and ensured that they do not manipulate the settings so as to gain greater profits. The concerns raised by NY Fed had already made the banks quite aware of the facts related to the manner in which LIBOR could have been manipulated. Barclay s senior executives and Bob should not have ignored the matter and should have imposed measures to regulate the banks activities (Prado and Rawlinson 111). Barclay s traders were tempted to report wrong LIBOR rates as the firms competitors were also seen to engage in reporting artificially low rates of borrowing. However as responsible leaders, manipulation is not the way to deal with investments made in different types of assets and enhance the overall level of the firm acquiring different types of competition. The company could have procured different types of capital market derivative instruments to mitigate the risks arising out of the loss of revenues due to competitor policies (Koblenz, Labbate and Turner 4). We will write a custom essay sample on LIBOR Scandal and Subprime Mortgage Meltdown: Who Benefits from the Manipulation of LIBOR or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now When NY Fed raised concerns regarding the manipulation of LIBOR rates, most of the banks were seen to keep silent indicating their deep vested interests in engaging in LIBOR alterations. If Barclays and other banks had supported the concerns presented in respect of LIBOR violation, the scandal could have been prevented. The heavy fine and the resigning of Bob might serve as important lessons for other firms to decline themselves from participating in such activities (Dooley 565).