Attorneys general in at least three states are conducting investigations tied to alleged manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate, adding to probes by U.S. and U.K. authorities.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and George Jepsen in Connecticut are working together, according to both offices. In Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley is also investigating, according to her office.
“The New York and Connecticut attorneys general have been looking into these issues for over six months, and will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead,” a spokesman for Mr. Schneiderman, James Freedland, said Sunday in an e-mail.
Barclays, Britain's second-biggest bank by assets, last month was fined £290 million ($453 million) for submitting false rates for LIBOR, a benchmark interest rate for financial products valued at $360 trillion. Royal Bank of Scotland Group, UBS, Lloyds Banking Group and Deutsche Bank are among lenders facing inquiries over alleged rigging of LIBOR.
Barclays traders who allegedly manipulated rates from 2005 to 2007 may be charged by U.S. prosecutors before Labor Day, according to a person familiar with the Justice Department's investigation. The scandal led to the resignation of Robert Diamond as the bank's CEO.
New York and Connecticut are investigating whether the states incurred losses as the result of manipulation, according to Mr. Schneiderman's office. Jaclyn Falkowski, a spokeswoman for Mr. Jepsen, said the states are investigating “with the goal of providing restitution to state agencies, municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit entities nationwide that may have been harmed by any illegal conduct.”
Massachusetts is looking into the effect on state investments and working with state agencies, said Brad Puffer, a spokesman for Ms. Coakley.
“We are currently investigating the serious allegations around the manipulation of the LIBOR and working diligently to determine what, if any, impact it may have on Massachusetts investments,” he said in an e-mailed statement.
Declines in interest rates have left state and municipal governments that sold debt with variable rates mired in swaps they can't afford to unwind because of high penalty rates.
The penalties are tied to LIBOR and other indexes that have fallen to near historic lows since the financial crisis that began in 2007, forcing at least $4 billion of payments to end the agreements, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Other borrowers stayed in swaps because they haven't been willing or able to pay the cost of unwinding them. The city of Baltimore and the New Britain Firefighters' and Police Benefit Fund in Connecticut consolidated and amended a complaint against Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Bank of America and other banks alleging they artificially suppressed LIBOR, according to documents in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
