The Fix - How Bankers Lied, Cheated Colluded to Rig World s Most Important

"The first thing you think is where's the edge, where can I make a bit more money, how can I push, push the boundaries. But the point is, you are greedy, you want every little bit of money that you can possibly get because, like I say, that is how you are judged, that is your performance metric"
--Tom Hayes, 2013
 
In the midst of the financial crisis, Tom Hayes and his network of traders and brokers from Wall Street's leading firms set to work engineering the biggest financial conspiracy ever seen. As the rest of the world burned, they came together on secret chat rooms and late night phone calls to hatch an audacious plan to rig Libor, the 'world's most important number' and the basis for $350 trillion of securities from mortgages to loans to derivatives. Without the persistence of a rag-tag team of investigators from the U.S., they would have got away with it....
 
The Fix by award-winning Bloomberg journalists Liam Vaughan and Gavin Finch, is the inside story of the Libor scandal, told through the journey of the man at the centre of it: a young, scruffy, socially awkward misfit from England whose genius for math and obsessive personality made him a trading phenomenon, but ultimately paved the way for his own downfall.
 
Based on hundreds of interviews, and unprecedented access to the traders and brokers involved, and the investigators who caught up with them, The Fix provides a rare look into the dark heart of global finance at the start of the 21st Century.

List of contents

Introduction ix
 
1 The End of the World 1
 
2 Tommy Chocolate 5
 
3 Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts 13
 
4 A Day in the Life 19
 
5 Buy the Cash Boys a Curry! 25
 
6 Anything With Four Legs 39
 
7 No One's Clean-Clean 49
 
8 The Sheep Will Follow 61
 
9 Escape to London 69
 
10 Goodbye, Big Nose 77
 
11 The Call 87
 
12 Crossing the Street 101
 
13 "What the Fuck Kind of Bank Is This?" 111
 
14 Just Keep Swimming 123
 
15 The Ballad of Diamond Bob 133
 
16 The Switcheroo 147
 
17 The Trial 157
 
Afterword 167
 
Epilogue: The Wild West 171
 
Notes 175
 
Acknowledgments 191
 
About the Authors 193
 
Index 195

About the author

LIAM VAUGHAN and GAVIN FINCH write about financial crime for Bloomberg and Businessweek magazine. In 2013, they uncovered a global conspiracy to manipulate the $5 trillion a day foreign exchange market, sparking investigations on three continents that to date have resulted in $10 billion in fines for banks including JPMorgan, Barclays and UBS.
In 2014, they were awarded the prestigious Gerald Loeb Award for excellence in business journalism and the Harold Wincott prize for the best financial journalism of the year.

Summary

"The first thing you think is where's the edge, where can I make a bit more money, how can I push, push the boundaries.

Additional text

"I would strongly recommend The Fix. Combining meticulous research with great writing, Vaughn and Finch offer a thought-provoking take on one of the most high-profile financial scandals of recent years." (The Actuary, July 2017)

"..written like an engagingly unravelling detective story, is definitely worth the read." (LSE Review, June 2017)

"If you are going to read only one book on the Libor fixing scandal, then this is the one for you." (Financial Adviser, May 2017)

"An incredibly interesting read." (TraderLife, April 2017)

"... a rollicking fast-paced thriller about an industry crisis with some very human stories." (FS Focus, April 2017)

"The Fix is a good read - and a cautionary tale about how the financial system has evolved picemeal." (Financial World, April 2017)

"Everyone currently working in the financial services industry, or even simply implicated by it, should read this book." (International Investment, April 2017).

"The authors have an eye for juicy anecdotes and skillfully avoid drowning the reader in too much detail." (MoneyWeek, March 2017)

"..a detailed and well-researched expose of the Libor manipulation that led to the conviction of trader Tom Hayes." (Thomson Reuters Compliance Complete, March 2017)

"...a gripping tale of greed and incompetence." (Funds Europe, February 2017)

"Ambitious graduates joining the City can read every compliance manual on banks' bookshelves, or they could just read this book." (Euromoney, February 2017)

"The Fix is the compelling story of the Libor scandal told through Hayes, an anti-hero who combined technical skill with a bullying personality to become a star trader... a gripping thriller." (Financial Times, January 2017)

Report

"I would strongly recommend The Fix. Combining meticulous research with great writing, Vaughn and Finch offer a thought-provoking take on one of the most high-profile financial scandals of recent years." (The Actuary, July 2017)
 
"..written like an engagingly unravelling detective story, is definitely worth the read." (LSE Review, June 2017)
 
"If you are going to read only one book on the Libor fixing scandal, then this is the one for you." (Financial Adviser, May 2017)
 
"An incredibly interesting read." (TraderLife, April 2017)
 
"... a rollicking fast-paced thriller about an industry crisis with some very human stories." (FS Focus, April 2017)
 
"The Fix is a good read - and a cautionary tale about how the financial system has evolved picemeal." (Financial World, April 2017)
 
"Everyone currently working in the financial services industry, or even simply implicated by it, should read this book." (International Investment, April 2017).
 
"The authors have an eye for juicy anecdotes and skillfully avoid drowning the reader in too much detail." (MoneyWeek, March 2017)
 
"..a detailed and well-researched expose of the Libor manipulation that led to the conviction of trader Tom Hayes." (Thomson Reuters Compliance Complete, March 2017)
 
"...a gripping tale of greed and incompetence." (Funds Europe, February 2017)
 
"Ambitious graduates joining the City can read every compliance manual on banks' bookshelves, or they could just read this book." (Euromoney, February 2017)
 
"The Fix is the compelling story of the Libor scandal told through Hayes, an anti-hero who combined technical skill with a bullying personality to become a star trader... a gripping thriller." (Financial Times, January 2017)

Product details

• Authors: Gavin Finch, Finch Gavin, l Vaughan, Lia Vaughan, Liam Vaughan, Liam Finch Vaughan, Vaughan Liam
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 26.01.2017
• EAN: 9781118995723
• ISBN: 978-1-118-99572-3
• No. of pages: 216
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 235 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Bloomberg; Bloomberg Visual; Bloomberg
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Business administration; Finanzwesen, Allg. Finanz- u. Anlagewesen, Finance & Investments, Finanz- u. Anlagewesen