Barclays, Citi subpoenaed in Libor probe

Barclays and Citigroup are among banks subpoenaed by US regulators investigating whether some firms manipulated the setting of the London interbank offered rate, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Germany’s WestLB and London-based Lloyds Banking Group are among the 16 banks on the panel that set Libor that have been contacted by regulators requesting information, said two people with knowledge of the investigation, who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorised to speak about the matter.

UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, said on March 15 it received subpoenas from US authorities. Bank of America has also received subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the US Department of Justice.

Libor rates are set daily by the British Bankers’ Association, based on data it gets from a panel of banks on what it would cost them to borrow funds for various periods of time and in different currencies.