Financial Business Review: Barclays FORMIDABLE Troubles, JPMorgan AGAIN In Court

The United Kingdom’s Libor Scandal shows no signs of abating, as on Thursday, Barclays (NYSE:BCS) standalone outlook was lowered from stable to negative by Moody’s, because pressure from politicians and its shareholders might push the company away from I-banking. Barclays now faces the quite formidable task of not only replacing thre top executives, but also to recruit a new CEO who possesses I-banking expertise, and also sufficient credibility to quickly take on a Libor blowup gone viral. Meanwhile, shareholders are left in a quandary: the liabilities that Barclays faces from the Libor inquiry are unknown, and shares fell by 16 percent the day following the bank’s being surprised by a $451.4 million regulatory fine. Upwards of a dozen banks are being investigated, providing minimal disclosures, and worse, are likely to be insufficient funds in reserves for the inevitable penalties. Further, Bob Diamond told U.K. legislators on Wednesday that he only learned of the Libor accusations very recently, but reports about Barclays’ involvement with potential manipulation of the rate go back at least to March 2011.

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On Wednesday Maple Group’s $3.8 billion acquisition of TMX Group (TMXGF.PK) was okayed by Canada’s top regulator. Maple Group is a consortium consisting of 13 of Canada’s leading banks and pension funds.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) shares fall way off on the day that the firm gets sued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for emails that pertain to the energy regulator’s investigation of JPM’s alleged manipulation of energy markets in California and in the Midwest. A federal judge has ordered the bank to explain why certain emails were held back from authorities, according to Jake Beckman.

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