So...what did we learn from Bob Diamond?

published 4 July 2012

Well, not a lot really.

This was not a masterclass in razor-sharp questioning on the whole by the MPs on the Treasury Select Committee.

It's tough to call anyone a winner in this whole circus, but Bob Diamond was certainly not torn to pieces as some predicted would happen.

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He was definitely stressed out by the whole thing - either that or he ran to the meeting and needed all that water he drank to rehydrate.

But MPs really struggled to budge him from the key messages he no doubt spent the last few days practising. Perhaps the real winner was the media training industry.

He constantly referred to the small number of staff involved, the fact Barclays acted fast and worked with regulators, and the matter was dealt with comprehensively. 'Let's move on' was the mantra.

What we did learn from Bob Diamond:

- Attempted LIBOR rigging was an industry-wide problem;

- The LIBOR scandal sickened and angered Bob Diamond but he didn't find out what was going on until the report came out;

- 14 traders - and they alone at Barclays - were responsible for the LIBOR scandal. They were a scandalous exception to a very different culture at Barclays, which employs over 100,000 people;

- The LIBOR problem occurred some years ago and was really well investigated by Barclays - indeed Barclays went above and beyond;

- Regulators knew there was something rotten in the state of LIBOR and Barclays told them;

- Bob Diamond really loves Barclays - he said that a lot of times.

What we didn't learn from Bob Diamond:

- Which people 'in Whitehall' were apparently worried about Barclays LIBOR submissions being high?;

- What was wrong with Barclays's culture that the requests to fiddle LIBOR never referred up the management chain beyond desk supervisor?

- How come if regulators knew there was something odd going on with LIBOR industry-wide - and Barclays kept telling them about it - did Diamond not think there might be problems at Barclays?

Below is the play-by-play of the questioning, as reported by Sharecast.

1709: Concluding, Diamond says: 'I know Barclays would still act the same way [if something like this were to happen again] to come out and be the first to correct it. But I worry that the impact of being first and the recation to the one firm that's out first outside of the industry contact doesn't create great incentive for others to come forward.'

1705: Closing remarks...exactly the same comments that he has made for the last three hours - Bob Diamond loves Barclays.

1700: Two and three quarter hours gone...not much new information has been revealed. Chairman Andrew Tyrie says he's going to wrap it up when three hours have passed.

1640: This afternoon in a nutshell: Diamond is likened to Geoffrey Boycott: he's "been at the crease for two hours and we're a great deal further forward".

1635: Mann invites Diamond and his colleagues to give money to charity.

1630: "Either you were complicit or you were grossly negligent or you were grossly incompetent" says John Mann to Diamond. But Diamond goes back to his tried and tested line that what happened was wrong and it has been sorted.

1620: It's taken a long time for an MP to point out that the Libor fixing problem was not the only thing that's gone wrong for Barclays recently - PPI for example.

1600: Will MPs ask Diamond how he didn't know know anything was wrong at Barclays in terms of Libor fiddling BUT was aware there was an industry-wide problem? Seems glaringly obvious thing to ask.

1600: Diamond again refuses to land FSA in it but does implicitly imply that regulators knew something was going on. Barclays met with 'multiple agencies' on 'multiple occasions' on Libor and it wasn't dealt with, he says.

1555: Diamond is making a point of calling all the MPs by their first names and much is being made of it in the social media-sphere by commentators. Is he trying to be friendly and so get an easier ride? Is he telling them he knows where skeletons are? Does he just not respect them? Would he call a judge by his first name if this were a judge-led inquiry (as Labour wants)?

1550: Whoever did Diamond's media training should be very proud. He has stuck to his key messages like his life depended on it - which despite what some people want, it doesn't.

1535: Andrea Leadsom MP used to work at Barclays and is arguably giving Diamond the hardest time yet. Not that that's really saying much as Diamond really hasn't given up much yet.

1530: Diamond says that no report of Libor tampering went above desk supervisor until investigations started.

1525: Diamond denies living in a 'parallel universe'. Andrea Leadsom MP sounds like she is going in swinging...

1520: Diamond slavishly sticking to the line that Barclays wanted to help the regulator and sort this all out. Not answering questions about management failing to stamp down on things much, much quicker and senior management not being approachable when wrongdoing was uncovered.

1515: Diamond: Traders trying to fix Libor were acting in their own interest, not that of Barclays.

1510: The emails from the traders involved in fixing Libor "made me physically ill", says Diamond. He says he is sorry and he is really, really angry. But it "doesn't represent the bank I know and love". He really loves that bank, in case that wasn't clear.

1510: Diamond asked if bankers should go to jail for recklessly or intentionally misleading markets. He says they should be dealt with 'harshly' but avoids jail-related answer.

1500: Diamond says he was not aware of Libor 'low-balling' until this month. Wow.

1455: Intriguing moment when Diamond refers to 'secret loans' for banks during financial crisis. No more detail forthcoming though.

1450: Diamond says he didn't believe that Ministers were asking Barclays to fiddle Libor numbers.

1450: Michael Fallon takes Diamond back to the Tucker file note...Diamond refuses to speculate on which senior Whitehall figures Tucker was referencing when he spoke about government concerns about Barclays' Libor levels.

1445: Norman trying to get Diamond to say the Bank of England was slow to get involved in the 2008 financial crisis but Diamond won't bite.

1440: Diamond and Jesse Norman MP have been discussing the former's career for a while. It all sounds quite chummy - Norman used to work at Barclays. Is Norman lulling Diamond into a false sense of security? Is a killer question coming?

1434: Diamond denies Barclays lowered Libor rates to protect its reputation amid fears it could be nationalised by the government. But it feels like Diamond really didn't answer the question about what Paul Tucker meant when he queried Barclays' Libor rates.

1430: MP Tyrie says Bank of England's Tucker suggested to Diamond that Barclays' Libor submissions 'could be lower'. He calls this 'a nod and a wink'.

1425: Diamond looks under pressure. Lots of fidgeting going on. He's going to have to ask for a new jug of water soon at this rate.

1420: Diamond says he changed his mind about resigning over the weekend because of falling support from regulators and shareholders. But won't answer repeated questions on whether regulators made demands on Chairman Marcus Agius for Diamond to resign.

1420: Diamond call traders who tried to fix Libor 'reprehensible'. Says Barclays wanted to get to the bottom of the problem when they found out about it. He says Barclays is suffering from being "first mover" in terms of co-operating with regulators over the Libor scandal.

1415: Mr Diamond says he "loves Barclays". 16 years of 'tremendous enjoyment' at the bank, he says.

1415: Andrew Tyrie MP thanks Mr Diamond for coming. Said he wants to give Mr Diamond an opportunity to explain himself

1410: The MPs are all sat down and now we wait for Mr Diamond's arrival in the hot seat.

1350: Not long now and the warm up show was spectacular with Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker requesting a grilling himself ASAP. There are accusations he told Diamond that a lower Libor rate would help as it made the bank looks stronger in the time of crisis.

1340: Bob Diamond has arrived and is all smiles. Not sure that's going to last.