Consumers may have had their interest rates on mortgages, student loans and even credit cards affected by this controversy. Most credit cards have a variable rate that is tied to the prime rate. Libor, on the other hand, is the dominant index for subprime loans, especially mortgages.
It’s not clear how long the manipulation of interest rates occurred when banks were under pressure to make themselves look healthier and the financial crisis less dire than it actually was. The allegations so far suggest that the banks set the Libor rate at artificially low rates so as not to suggest that interbank lending had frozen up. Consumers who received a loan during those times may have benefitted with these lower rates. However, consumers who borrowed during times when the Libor rate might have been pushed artificially high were hurt by these actions.
– Bill Hardekopf is founder of Lowcards.com, an online credit-card information site.
