EU Assembly Seeks Views on Libor Scandal Ahead of Public Hearing

European Parliament lawmakers are seeking views on how to prevent any repeat of the scandal engulfing interbank lending rates and on whether manipulation of the benchmarks was more widespread than reported.

The assembly’s economic and monetary affairs committee is probing what steps should be taken to stamp out “manipulation and establish integrity” in market indexes such as Libor and Euribor, the parliament said in a statement published on its website. The committee will hold a hearing on the abuse of interbank lending rates on Sept. 24.

The parliament is seeking views on “specific measures” that “should be taken at European/global level to improve investor confidence,” it said. The consultations will run until Sept. 17.

Confidence in Libor, the benchmark interest rate for more than $500 trillion of securities, has been shaken by Barclays Plc (BARC)’s admission that it submitted false rates. The revelations have provoked renewed calls for tougher oversight of the financial system and pushed regulatory probes of interbank lending rates to the top of the political agenda.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Brunsden in Brussels at +32-2-285-4304 or jbrunsden@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net