The Fix

Afterword

Following a 2012 review, the process for setting Libor was overhauled. Responsibility for managing the rate was stripped from the British Bankers’ Association and handed to a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, which promised to keep a closer eye on banks’ submissions. Libor-setting is now a regulated activity, and the law has been amended to make it a standalone criminal offense to attempt to manipulate Libor or any other financial benchmark.

Still, many question whether Libor can survive. The market for unsecured short-term loans—the whole underpinning of the Libor system—never really recovered after the financial crisis, meaning the rates the banks provide remain largely the product of guesswork. The Federal Reserve has established a committee of banks and regulators to help come up with alternative benchmarks on which to peg the trillions of dollars of derivatives and loans that still rely on Libor. After three years, they are no closer to arriving at an agreement.

Hayes appealed both his conviction and the length of his sentence, and on Dec. 1, 2015, a hearing was held at London's Royal Courts of Justice. For three days his lawyers argued to have his sentence overturned on the grounds that Justice Cooke had instructed jurors not to take into account the prevalence of Libor-rigging in financial markets when assessing Hayes's actions. They also claimed Cooke had refused to admit key evidence. Hayes was absent for the proceedings.

The three-person appellate ...