Which British bank was fined $450 million in 2012 for manipulating the Libor interest rate? Barclays was fined that amount.
In June 2012, Barclays agreed to pay about £290 million, then equivalent to roughly $450 million, after regulators found that its employees had submitted misleading interest-rate estimates. Those submissions helped set Libor, a benchmark used to price loans, mortgages, derivatives and other financial contracts.
The misconduct occurred between 2005 and 2009 and involved both Libor and the related Euribor benchmark. Traders sometimes sought submissions that improved trading results, while other submissions made Barclays appear financially stronger during the credit crisis. The scandal damaged confidence in benchmark rates and led to investigations of numerous banks.
A common mix-up is assuming the fine was imposed on all banks together. Barclays was the first major institution fined in the Libor scandal; Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and others faced separate enforcement actions later. The scandal eventually contributed to Libor's replacement by alternative benchmarks such as SONIA in the United Kingdom.