NYSE Euronext to administer Libor interest rate - sources

LONDON (Reuters) - NYSE Euronext, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, has been chosen to run Libor, the benchmark interest rate that has been at the centre of a global rigging scandal, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The decision will be announced shortly by Britain's finance ministry, the sources said.

Sky News said the U.S. group will pay a token sum of one pound to acquire BBA Libor Ltd, the company which has previously had responsibility for administering the London interbank offered rate, commonly known as Libor.

Thomson Reuters , which has calculated Libor on behalf of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) trade body, had expressed interest in taking on the running of Libor.

The Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the BBA and Thomson Reuters declined to comment. NYSE Euronext was not immediately available for comment.

Last September, Martin Wheatley, the head of the FCA recommended changes to how Libor was set, governed and supervised. BBA Libor has been authorised and regulated by the FCA since April.

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Steve Slater; Editing by Alexander Smith and Matthew Tostevin)