Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (RBS): The Bank at the Heart of the LIBOR Scandal

The untouchable U.S.?
Three U.S. banks are involved in setting LIBOR — JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and Citigroup — but to date haven’t faced charges. The report issued by the CFTC on RBS showed significant involvement by Citigroup into the rate-rigging scandal, and that the implication of the U.S. banks could be traced back to employees who began at Royal Bank of Scotland.

The Foolish bottom line
With 16 banks involved in setting LIBOR, three of which are based in the U.S., the investigations, fines, and any subsequent adjustments to the rate-setting process could span several years. But don’t expect them to have any long-term effect; the fines are minor compared to the profits of these major banks and will barely register on their bottom lines.

The article The Bank at the Heart of the LIBOR Scandal originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Molly McCluskey.

Molly McCluskey owns shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase.

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