Ex-Rabobank traders face US Libor trial

Two former Rabobank traders from Britain are set to become the first defendants to face trial in the US on charges stemming from a global investigation into whether various banks sought to manipulate the interest rate known as Libor.

Jury selection is scheduled to take place today in Manhattan federal court in the case of Anthony Allen, 44, and Anthony Conti, 46, who are accused of helping manipulate interest rates to benefit the Dutch lender’s trading positions.

The case is the first by the US justice department to go to trial over allegations that financial institutions manipulated Libor, the London interbank offered rate, a short-term rate banks charge each other for loans.