Grossman’s Op-Ed on the Libor Banking Scandal in the Courant

Professor of Economics Richard Grossman published an op-ed in The Hartford Courant on August 7 about the global “Libor” banking scandal. Taking a lesson from the old mob-run “numbers racket,” Grossman proposes an elegant solution to fixing deficits in the Libor, and renewing public confidence in the banking system.

The Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is currently calculated by asking a group of banks to self-report the cost for them to borrow money from other banks. The highest and lowest 25 percent of submitted estimates are thrown out, and the average of the remaining submissions is the Libor. Banks are supposed to submit their best estimate of their borrowing costs, but incentives to cheat are enormous, with millions of dollars in profits at stake, Grossman argues. Therefore, the Libor—the world’s leading benchmark interest rate—should be based on a market-determined figure, such as the recently launched GCF Repo index, published by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.