Saturday, August 4, 2012

Libor Scandal Is No Match for Its Medieval Precedent

Echoes: July 30
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Source: "Chronicles of Froissart," by Jean Froissart, 1388.


How timely!  Following my earlier posts on Greenspur and its bean-counters, here's extra food for thought drawn from real-world history.

(Reposted here from the article on Bloomberg.com)

The financial news has recently been dominated by the scandal over the London interbank offered rate (known as Libor), with allegations that leading banks have manipulated a financial benchmark determining the interest rates charged to millions of borrowers and used in derivatives contracts worth hundreds of trillions of dollars.

The U.K. Parliament has become involved, grilling the former chief executive officer of Barclays Plc (BARC), Bob Diamond, over these events. But none of this is entirely without precedent. A new study of the foreign-exchange market in the Middle Ages, conducted by the University of Reading’s ICMA Centre, has documented a medieval system of exchange-rate manipulation similar to today’s. That system also led to public outcry, a parliamentary investigation and the impeachment of a famous financier. 

A major aim of financial innovation throughout history has been to circumvent regulations and restrictions placed on the industry. In the Middle Ages, an important obstacle was the religious disapproval of usury -- the charging of interest or “making money from money.” Dante condemned the usurer to the lowest level of the seventh circle of Hell. To avoid the “taint of usury,” medieval financiers developed various methods of disguising interest within other transactions. 

Click HERE to access the remainder of the article.

3 comments:

  1. Another good example, maybe more for Darokin, is the Danish Tulip Riots. A lesson if well learned could have prevented many market crashes througout history. I believe the real lesson learned is that no matter the risk, people will buy thinking the profit will not run out on them...

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  2. The discovery of a few trillion carats of diamonds in the Great Crater (based on the recent discovery that the Soviets were keeping their colossal hoard a secret) in early AC1020 will allow Prince Kol to establish a Diamond Throne with the economic power to buy and Sell even the Thyatian Empire.
    Unfortunately dumping a few billion gold pieces in diamonds into the global Mystaran Economy is not without effect.

    So if you don't mind...Prince Kol is just going to bribe all two hundred Thyatian Senators into removing the Emperor as of Nuwmont 20, AC1020 with a firkin of diamonds (20 million gold pieces worth per barrel) each.

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    Replies
    1. Interesting scenario which is bound to turn against Kol sooner than later as others find out about his treasure trove!

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