While listening an old collection of my favorite rock album, Queen's "Jazz" 1st released in 1978, I read the complete story of a young man, a 35 years old mathematician who turned into money market trader. His story will definitely be an important chapter in a modern financial world, currently under its early stage of a structural and gigantic shift.
This young man, Tom Hayes who got married just before his life was about to leaving its best episode and entering into a sad ending, is a center in the most controversial global financial market scandal long investigation process, involving various world major financial regulators, from the US, UK, Japan and reached far south to Singapore.
Be frank, since the scandal, known as LIBOR manipulation, first emerged and revealed by the Wall Street Journal's investigation report in 16 April 2008, I couldn't stop myself to dig every following stories. This, including to learn from the then formal investigation ordered by the UK authority, known as Marthin Wheatley's independent review which among its recommendation was to transfer the oversight of the interest rate benchmark used by around 350 trillion financial transaction world wide from BBA to UK regulator and inspired many authorities globally to follow, including to no longer using light touch financial institutions supervision approach. Also, learning how this interest benchmark, first created by Greek's man named as Minos Zombanakis around 90 years ago to pricing his financial transaction with the Shah of Iran, can be the most important pricing benchmark in the world.
Until then, the world was shocked by this kind of dealing room chat:
"Hi Guys, We got a big position in 3m libor for the next 3 days. Can we please keep the lib or fixing at 5.39 for the next few days. It would really help. We do not want it to fix any higher than that. Tks a lot."
(Barclays Bank trader in New York to submitter, 13 September 2006, cited from "Behind the Libor Scandal", The New York Times, 12 July 2012).
The story I just finished (while the Queen's music played in shuffle mode in my earphone) is another report from the Wall Street Journal : "The Unraveling of Tom Hayes" (series of five parts article).
Here's the best part of it (just for your info, Tom Hayes got 14 years jail verdict from the London court):
First, when the judge, Cooke, announced the sentence of 14 years by saying "it was important to send a powerful deterrent message to the rest of the banking industry";
Second, is when Tom Hayes had to say goodbye in court after the sentence to his beloved wife, while hand in to her his watch and wedding ring, he said:
"Will you wait for me?"
and his wife replied: "Just don't do something stupid. When you come out, you’ll have a house and a car and a wife and a son who love you,” (She didn’t cry; tears would be plentiful the next days)
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