SHORT-LISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR
The term "Libor" is obscure, but it determines a good deal of our
financial lives-the interest rate on our credit card; our student loans;
our mortgages; our car payments. How did a math genius, a handful of
outrageous confederates, and a deeply corrupt banking system conspire to
pickpocket you? They were in your wallet to already.
In 2006, an oddball group of bankers, traders and brokers from some of
the world's largest financial institutions made a startling realization:
Libor--the London interbank offered rate, which determines interest
rates on trillions in loans worldwide--was set daily by a small group of
easily manipulated functionaries.
Tom Hayes, a brilliant but troubled mathematician, became the lynchpin
of a shadowy team that used hook and crook to take over the process and
set rates that made them a fortune, no matter the cost to others. Among
the motley crew was a French trader nicknamed "Gollum"; the broker
"Abbo," who liked to publicly strip naked when drinking; a Kazakh
chicken farmer turned something short of financial whiz kid; an
executive called "Clumpy" because of his patchwork hair loss; and a
broker uncreatively nicknamed "Big Nose." Eventually known as the
"Spider Network," Hayes's circle generated untold riches --until it all
unraveled in spectacularly vicious, backstabbing fashion.
*Praised as reading "*like a fast-paced John le Carré thriller" (New
York Times), "compelling" (Washington Post) and "jaw-dropping"
(Financial Times), The Spider Network is not only a rollicking
account of the scam, but a provocative examination of a financial system
that was warped and shady throughout.
