INTEREST RATE SWAPS EXPLAINED: AN INSURANCE CONTRACT ON FLOATING RATE BONDS THAT HAS A CLAUSE LEAVING THE SWAP PURCHASER (MOST COMMONLY MUNICIPALITIES) "SHOVELING OUT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON A DECLINE OF LIBOR," WHEREAS THE ISSUING BANK HAS TAKEN ITS PROFIT ON DAY ONE AND THEREFORE CANNOT LOSE. HOWEVER, THE BANK CAN WIN IN OTHER WAYS BY DRIVING LIBOR DOWNWARD ...INCIDENTALLY MAKING ITS INTEREST-RATE-SWAP CLIENTS COLATERAL DAMAGE.

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Interest Rate-Fixing Scandal Swindles Baltimore, Other Municipalities out of Millions of Dollars 

Amidst the financial crisis of 2008 and resultant recession, cities and states around the country lost millions of dollars on investments tied to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). Far from a "free market phenomenon," they say the rate was suppressed by a cartel of some of the world's largest banks, and the city of Baltimore is taking them to court.

Related Story: Baltimore, Big Banks and a Criminal Conspiracy 
Watch full multipart The LIBOR Fraud

Bio 

Thomas Ferguson is Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a Senior Fellow of the Roosevelt Institute. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and taught formerly at MIT and the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Golden Rule (University of Chicago Press, 1995) and Right Turn (Hill & Wang, 1986). Most of his research focuses on how economics and politics affect institutions and vice versa. His articles have appeared in many scholarly journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Economic History. He is a long time Contributing Editor to The Nation and a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of the Historical Society and the International Journal of Political Economy.