Barclays Bank fined more than $450M to settle charges

NEW YORK (MCT) — Barclays Bank PLC has agreed to pay more than $450 million to settle charges it attempted to manipulate key interest rates.

The London-based investment bank announced settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the British Financial Services Authority.

Investigators found the bank manipulated the London InterBank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate, or EURIBOR, benchmark interest rates used in the world's financial markets.

"LIBOR and EURIBOR are critically important benchmark interest rates," Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a statement. "Because mortgages, student loans, financial derivatives and other financial products rely on LIBOR and EURIBOR as reference rates, the manipulation of submissions used to calculate those rates can have significant negative effects on consumers and financial markets worldwide."