Barclays Chief Bob Diamond Could Be Brought Before Congress, Sources Say

THE GUARDIAN: Washington politicians considering asking former Barclays chief executive to testify as Libor-fixing controversy crosses to US

US politicians are considering summoning Barclays' former boss Bob Diamond to Washington to answer questions about the Libor-fixing scandal, in a sign that the controversy is becoming an ever hotter issue in the US.

Two high[-]powered committees, the Senate Banking committee and the House Financial Services committee, are both believed to be considering calling Diamond to testify. The committees declined to comment, but sources close to them said they were in the early stages of gathering information and were almost certain to call the former Barclays chief executive after the summer recess. A spokesman for Bob Diamond declined to comment.

Senator Tim Johnson, chairman of the banking committee, said on Tuesday that his panel would quiz Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner on the scandal at hearings scheduled before the August break.

"I am concerned by the growing allegations of potential widespread manipulation of Libor and similar interbank rates by some financial firms," said Johnson.

The US justice department is already investigating the scandal, and several cities and state pension funds have launched legal action, claiming that their investments suffered as a result of the manipulation of Libor rates. » | Dominic Rushe in New York and Jill Treanor | Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Shares Bonanza For State-Owned Bank Chief
SKY NEWS: Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester has been awarded an extra shares bonus worth up to £4.5m - taking his pay package for 2010 to a potential £7.7m.

The award - made under the bank's long-term incentive plan - is on top of a £2m annual bonus already confirmed by the group and Mr Hester's £1.2m salary.

He also stands to pick up six million shares as part of his 2011 maximum annual bonus.

Based on the current share price, these would be worth around £2.7m.

RBS has also revealed bonus payments for a raft of other executives at the bank, which is 83% owned by the taxpayer.

They include a £1.4m annual handout and potential £2.8m long-term incentive payout for finance boss Bruce Van Saun. >>> Graham Fitzgerald, Sky News Online | Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Big Bonus For Barclays Boss
The boss of Barclays, Bob Diamond, is to get a £6.5m bonus

City Bankers Are Already Lining Up for Bonuses Again
After helping the world get into its financial mess, bankers at HSBC are now lining up for renewed bonuses. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: HSBC bankers are in line for bumper bonus payouts after an 'encouraging' jump in profits.

While the company's performance added impetus to a day of good economic news, the re-emergence of the City's discredited bonus system will be an embarrassment for Gordon Brown, who has promised to outlaw reckless behaviour in the Square Mile.

Taxpayer-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland has already started offering 'guaranteed' bonuses to traders in defiance of promises it made to rein in no-strings-attached rewards.

And Barclays is gearing up for massive payouts after profits rose 15 per cent in the first three months of 2009.

The culture of extravagant bonuses encouraged bankers to take ever bigger risks, laying the ground for the gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. >>> By Simon Duke | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Barclays Shares Slump 25pc in Last Hour
THE TELEGRAPH: Barclays shares tumbled in the last hour of trading on the FTSE 100, leaving the stock down 25pc on the day and more than 40pc on the week.

Shares in the high street lender - one of the few not to have asked the Government for more capital - ended down 32 to 98p. Shares in rivals were also hit, with Royal Bank of Scotland sliding 13pc to 34.7p, Lloyds TSB 5pc to 98.4p and HSBC 2pc to 535p.

The final hour marked a dramatic reversal of the day's earlier trading which had seen Barclays' shares up 5pc and RBS 9.5pc on hopes governments on both sides of the Atlantic will provide more capital to the battered sector. >>> By Graham Ruddick | Friday, January 16, 2009

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