MARKETS
A FORMER Rabobank trader from Australia will plead guilty to US charges that he conspired in a huge scandal to manipulate Libor, the leading benchmark for pricing financial transactions, his lawyer has said. 
The expected plea by Paul Dion Thompson, the former head of money market and derivatives trading in NorthEast Asia for the Dutch bank, was disclosed by his lawyer Harry Sandick at a hearing overnight on Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court.
Thompson, 50, who faces charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, was extradited from Australia and released on a $665,250 bond.
Libor underpins trillions of dollars of financial products globally from mortgages to credit cards. The rate is based on what banks say they believe they would pay if they borrowed from other banks.US and European authorities have been probing whether banks attempted to manipulate the rate to benefit their own trading positions. Investigations have resulted in roughly $US9 billion in sanctions worldwide against financial institutions.