All major financial benchmarks should be regulated following the Libor-rigging scandal, according to a lobby group representing the banking industry in Brussels, Washington and Hong Kong.
In cases where contributors to a benchmark aren't already regulated, laws should be passed to ensure participants adhere to the correct standards, the Global Financial Markets Association said in a statement on its website today.
"The key benchmark indexes around the world need to be subject to consistent, transparent and sound practices to ensure the smooth functioning and efficiency of global financial markets," the lobby group said.
Financial Services Authority Managing Director Martin Wheatley is reviewing how the London interbank offered rate is set, including whether to regulate it after Barclays was fined a record 290 million pounds ($464 million) in June for rigging the benchmark. The rate, overseen by the London-based British Bankers' Association, is the basis for more than $300 trillion of securities worldwide.
The GFMA's members are the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association as as well as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in Washington.
