Libor: Barclays Culture 'Came From The Top'

A top banking regulator has told MPs that Barclays had a "culture of gaming" and its problems came from "the tone at the top".

Andrew Bailey, a director at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), added that former boss Bob Diamond's account of the bank's relationship with regulators was "highly selective".

Mr Bailey told the Treasury Select Committee, which was taking evidence on the Libor-fixing scandal, there was a problem with the institution that came from Barclays senior management.

"The sort of words we would frequently use were that there was a culture of gaming, and gaming us," he said.

Earlier, former Barclays chief operating officer Jerry del Missier confirmed he had told the bank's money market desk to lower Libor submissions in October 2008 because he believed the Bank of England had directly instructed it to do so.

He also revealed that Barclays' compliance department, which is responsible for ensuring that policies and procedures are adhered to, was made aware of the request to lower Libor submissions.

"It did not seem an inappropriate action given this was coming from the Bank of England," he said.

When asked if he was acting on an instruction from Diamond, Del Missier said he was.

"What was communicated to me by Mr Diamond was that there was political pressure on the bank regarding Barclays' health, and that we should get our Libor rates down."

Later in the session, FSA executive chairman Lord Adair Turner said Mr Diamond was aware that the regulator had sent a letter detailing issues with Barclays' culture, contradicting his evidence.

Earlier this month Mr Diamond told the committee he was not aware the FSA had sent a letter to the bank in April warning over its "aggressive" stance on regulation.

But Lord Turner said that Mr Diamond knew of the letter and had asked to discuss it after a meeting.

He added that Mr Diamond had said: "I'm extremely concerned to receive this letter and we take very seriously what you said."

Lord Turner also confirmed there are ongoing investigations into other banks.