Open Secret

October 1, 2014
Financial journalist Arvedlund tells the LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate) scandal story, which made headlines in 2008. We learn that LIBOR is the number that bankers more- or-less make up every morning, morphing from a decades-old gentlemen's agreement to a means of outright theft. It's a funding benchmark for everything from corporate borrowing and commodity trading to home loans and credit cards. Arvedlund showcases the big players in New York, Washington, London, and Tokyo, focusing on Thomas Hayes, the first man arrested, whose London trial begins in January 2015 and who risks extradition to the U.S. Hayes joined UBS (formerly Union Bank of Switzerland) in 2006 before turning 30, then became one of the most powerful derivatives traders in Tokyo before joining Citigroup there in 2009. His ability to make the market's numbers move his way was legendary. Authorities in the U.S. and the UK targeted Hayes as the principal protagonist in the rigging of LIBOR, and this captivating saga's final chapter is yet to be written.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)