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U.K. Libor report: raise fines, fire management

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Britain's Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England need to tighten regulation of banks, raise fines for wrongdoing, and possibly acquire the authority to fire senior executives, according to a report from Parliament's Treasury Select Committee following to scandal of Barclays [uk:barc] misreporting their interbank lending rates, known as Libor, during the financial crisis. "The sustained rigging of a crucial benchmark rate has done great damage to the U.K.'s reputation. Public trust in banks is at an all time low," Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, in a release late Friday. "Urgent improvements, both to the way banks are run, and the way they are regulated, is needed if public and market confidence is to be restored." The report points to manipulation by individuals for personal benefit and alleges that "senior management at Barclays were issuing instructions to manipulate artificially the bank's submissions. It is unlikely that Barclays was the only bank attempting this."