UAE central bank confirms Barclays to leave rate-setting panel

UAE central bank confirms Barclays to leave rate-setting panel

The United Arab Emirates central bank confirmed Barclays has asked to withdraw from the country's interbank lending rate-setting panel, and will leave after completing a mandatory 90-day notice period.

July 19, 2012 11:00 by Reuters

The United Arab Emirates central bank confirmed Barclays has asked to withdraw from the country’s interbank lending rate-setting panel, and will leave after completing a mandatory 90-day notice period.

“Based on the justifications provided by Barclays Bank to withdraw from the Eibor panel including the circumstances that have occurred for the bank in London and New York, the panel members agreed to the withdrawal after the three months notice period,” the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting industry sources, that the central bank and members of the Eibor panel had met to discuss Barclays’ withdrawal and had agreed to its departure after the notice period, during which a replacement would be sought.

Barclays belongs to a panel of 12 banks that quote indicative interbank lending rates in UAE dirhams. The quotes are averaged to arrive at a daily range of Emirates interbank offered rates (Eibor), which are used to price financial instruments in the Gulf’s top financial centre.

Late last month, Barclays agreed with U.S. and British regulators to pay $453 million in fines for attempting to manipulate the London interbank offered rate through its submissions to the Libor panel. There has been no suggestion that it tried to manipulate Eibor.