Multiple bank scandals tarnish London's reputation

LONDON (AP) - It's been a tense summer in the city of London as one bank after another has faced allegations of massive misbehaviour.

Bankers in the British capital, which has for centuries been a center for global business, fear its reputation has been tarnished indelibly and that a heavy-handed regulatory crackdown is looming.

First came UK bank Barclays. Its chief executive, Bob Diamond, was forced to step down last month after US and British authorities fined the bank US$453 million (S$563 million) for manipulating a key market interest rate. Other banks are being investigated for their part in the scandal.

Then there was HSBC, another big London-based bank. It faces fines of up to US$1 billion after the US Senate issued a damming report last month alleging it had failed to stop the laundering of Mexican drug money.