PublishedW H Allen, April 2017 |
ISBN9780753557501 |
FormatSoftcover, 496 pages |
Dimensions23.4cm × 15.3cm × 3.6cm |
Listed as an FT book of the month
'Anyone with an interest in financial services and in what has gone wrong will find The Spider Network compelling.' - Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
'Will snare you in its web of deceit, lies, corruption, manipulation and colourful characters. (a) brilliant investigative exposU' - Harlan Coben, bestselling thriller author
'A gripping narrative ... impressive reporting and writing chops are on full display ... reads like a fast-paced John le CarrU thriller, and never lets up' - New York Times book review
'A feat of reporting, and much of it reads like a novel' - Leigh Gallagher, Washington Post
'A model of investigative financial writing... a more satisfying read than THE BIG SHORT by Michael Lewis' - Literary Review
'Remarkable', Sunday Times
'Jaw-dropping', Financial Times
In 2006, an oddball group of bankers, traders and brokers from some of the largest financial institutions made a startling realization- Libor-the London interbank offered rate, which determines the interest rates on trillions in loans worldwide-was set daily by a small group of easily manipulated administrators, and that they could reap huge profits by nudging it fractions of a percent to suit their trading portfolios. Tom Hayes, a brilliant but troubled mathematician, became the lynchpin of a wild alliance that included a prickly French trader nicknamed oGollumo; the broker oAbbo,o who liked to publicly strip naked when drinking; a nervous Kazakh chicken farmer known as oDerka Derkao; a broker known as oVillageo (short for oVillage Idioto) who racked up huge expense account bills; an executive called oClumpyo because of his patchwork hair loss; and a broker uncreatively nicknamed oBig Noseo who had once been a semi-professional boxer. This group generated incredible riches -until it all unraveled in spectacularly vicious, backstabbing fashion.
With exclusive access to key characters and evidence, The Spider Network is not only a rollicking account of the scam, but also a provocative examination of a financial system that was crooked throughout.
