Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has said he worked quickly in 2008 to bring problems with the benchmark Libor interest rate to the attention of the "full complement of U.S. regulatory agencies" while he was president of the New York Fed.
But people familiar with the matter said senior regulators and top investigators never heard an appeal from the New York Fed to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing over Libor. Documents released by the agency show it chose to focus on structural problems with Libor, rather than helping to bring corrupt actions at Barclays and other banks to light.
The people added that investigators worked largely without the Fed's help to build a case against British bank Barclays, which has admitted to trying to manipulate the critical global interest rate.
On Wednesday, Geithner is set to face tough questions from lawmakers on the developing Libor scandal.
