First Libor jury trial delayed in London

LONDON (Reuters) - The London trial of Tom Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader who is the first person in the world to face a jury trial over allegations of a conspiracy to rig Libor interest rates, has been delayed by two weeks.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Wednesday the high-profile trial at London's Southwark Crown Court, that had been due to begin on May 11, would now open on May 26. It is scheduled to last 10 to 12 weeks.

The former yen derivatives trader is charged by Britain's SFO with eight counts of conspiracy to defraud between 2006 and 2010 - a criminal offence that carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years. He has pleaded not guilty.

Libor, the London interbank offered rate, is used as a benchmark to help price an estimated $450 trillion of financial contracts around the world, from complex derivatives to loans for households, businesses and individuals.

After a seven-year global investigations into allegations of benchmark rate rigging, some of the world's biggest banks have paid more than $8.5 billion to settle regulatory allegations of wrongdoing. In addition UK and U.S. prosecutors have charged a total of 21 people to date and scores have been fired by their employers.

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Greg Mahlich)