Richard Shave reflects on a tumultuous 12 months in the banking world
The unravelling of wave after wave of banking scandals coupled with the new regulatory and political appetite for structural and cultural change at banks has made this a fascinating year for those working in the financial services space.
With the interest rate swap mis-selling scandal jostling for headlines with the LIBOR and PPI scandals, some eye-watering money laundering fines, the very public chastisement of former HBOS executives, not to mention the odd “rogue trader” fraud, it is easy to see why the number of disputes in the banking sector is predicted to reach unprecedented levels in the months and years ahead.
LIBOR
Following hot on the heels of the PPI scandal, came the LIBOR issue. What had at first to some seemed a parochial affair involving UK banks allegedly rigging an obscure financial index, over the last year has grown into an issue of global significance. The world had suddenly woken up to the reality that LIBOR was the number used globally as a benchmark to set payments
