Freddie Mac Sues More Than A Dozen Banks Over Libor Losses | HuffPost

Freddie Mac Sues Banks Over Libor Losses

Reuters

An unidentified woman walks to the Freddie Mac offices on August 11, 2010, in McLean, Virginia. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac

Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG are among the banks named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Freddie Mac, which invested in mortgage bonds and swaps tied to U.S. dollar Libor, claims the banks colluded to rig the benchmark from 2007 to 2010, according to the complaint, which was filed March 14 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Freddie Mac sued for undetermined damages.

The inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, said the two government-controlled mortgage companies may have suffered more than $3 billion in losses as a result of Libor manipulation, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters in December.

In the memo, the watchdog urged the companies' regulator to consider legal action.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, Credit Suisse and other banks did not immediately respond to calls for comment or declined to comment.

More than a dozen banks have been under scrutiny by authorities in the United States, Japan and Europe over claims they altered the Libor to hide financial problems and boost profits.

Freddie Mac said it discovered the fraud and collusion when Britain's Barclays admitted in June it submitted false Libor submissions, according to the complaint. The bank agreed to pay $453 million that month to settle with British and U.S. authorities.

UBS was fined $1.5 billion in December for fiddling with interest rates, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group settled with authorities for $612 million in February.

The case is The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation v Bank of America, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 13-cv-00342.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Richard Chang)

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Before You Go

Libor Scandal Timeline

Barclays Begins Manipulating Libor Rate(01 of14)

Barclays allegedly began manipulating the Libor rate in 2005 and allegedly stopped manipulating Libor in 2009, according to Businessweek. But other reports indicate that Libor fixing may have spanned decades. (credit:AP)

Barclays Employee Admits Libor Is Being Rigged(02 of14)

A Barclays employee told an analyst from the New York Fed's Markets Group that Barclays was indeed using false information to set the interest rate on April 11, 2008, according to recently released Federal Reserve documents."We know that we're not posting, um, an honest LIBOR," the Barclays employee told the New York Fed's Fabiola Ravazzolo, according to a transcript of the phone conversation. (credit:AP)

Geithner Privately Expresses Concern Over Libor's Integrity(03 of14)

In June 2008, then-president of the New York Federal Reserve Timothy Geithner sent a memo to British banking authorities expressing concern over the "integrity and transparency" of the key interest rate. Geithner did not inform British regulators that a Barclays employee admitted that Libor was being rigged, according to Reuters. (credit:AP)

Banks Ripped Off The Government During Bailout(04 of14)

During the 2008 Financial Crisis, the U.S. government lent money to cash strapped banks and AIG using Libor to determine interest, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Congress on July 25, 2012. The artificially low rate saved the banks and AIG billions, while costing tax payers the same amount. (credit:AP)

Peter Mandelson: Barclays CEO The "Unacceptable Face Of Banking"(05 of14)

In April 2010, then-UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told theTimes of London that then-CEO of Barclays, Robert Diamond, was "the unacceptable face of banking" after the bank announced that its CEO would receive a bonus of 63 million pounds, Sky News reports. Mandelson also told the Times that banking bosses were expected to act with "a bit more modesty, a bit more humility" than Diamond's behavior. (credit:Getty)

Barclays Fined $450 Million(06 of14)

On June 27, Barclays disclosed to its shareholders that it would be fined $450 million by U.S. and U.K. regulators for conspiring to manipulate the Libor rate between 2005 and 2009, The Telegraph reports. (credit:AP)

Barclays Chairman Resigns(07 of14)

On July 2, Barclays announced that it's Chairman, Marcus Agius, would be resigning in the wake of the Libor rigging scandal. In the official resignation letter, Mr. Agius stated that the Libor rigging constituted "unacceptable standards of behaviour within the bank." He went on to say:

As Chairman, I am the ultimate guardian of the bank's reputation. Accordingly, the buck stops with me and I must acknowledge responsibility by standing aside."

(credit:AP)

Robert Diamond Resigns As Barclays CEO(08 of14)

On July 3, Robert Diamond resigned as Barclays CEO, The Washington Post reports. (credit:AP)

Marcus Agius Re-Appointed As Barclays Chairman(09 of14)

On July 3, Barclays announced that Marcus Agius would be reappointed as the bank's full-time Chairman following the resignation of Robert Diamond. (credit:Getty)

Did The Bank of England Encourage Barclays?(10 of14)

On July 3, Barclays released phone records between CEO Robert Diamond and the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Paul Tucker, that indicate that the BoE executive encouraged Barclays to manipulate the Libor rate, The Wall Street Journal reported. (credit:AP)

Diamond Goes Before Parliament(11 of14)

On July 4, Bob Diamond told a U.K. parliamentary panel that he believes other major banks were involved in Libor rigging, The Wall Street Journal reports. He also stated that fear of being nationalized during the 2008 Financial Crisis contributed to its actions. (credit:AP)

Bob Diamond Loses His $31 Million Bonus(12 of14)

Barclays CEO Bob Diamond agreed to forgo an extra $31 million bonus, the bank announced on July 10, according to the reports Wall Street Journal. Diamond will still net his salary and pension for a year, which is worth about 2 million pounds. (credit:AP)

At Least 16 Banks Under Investigation(13 of14)

At least 16 banks were reportedly under investigation for Libor rigging as of July 11, according to Reuters. In an internal bank memo circulated on July 13, Barclays executive committee told employees that, "As other banks settle with authorities, and their details become public, and various governments' inquiries shed more light, our situation will eventually be put in perspective," TIME Magazine reports. (credit:Getty)

EU Weighs Criminalizing Rate Rigging(14 of14)

On July 25, the European Union proposed making the rigging of international interest rates a criminal offense. (credit:AP)

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