UK court identifies Barclays staff named in rate probe

A number of Barclays current and past executives are on a shortlist of individuals named in regulatory documents referring to the bank's attempted rigging of global benchmark interest rates, court documents released on Friday showed.

The list includes the head of Barclays' investment bank, Rich Ricci, who has led a reputation-based review of all of Barclays' investment banking activities following the scandal, which saw the bank fined $453 million by United States and British authorities.

The list also includes finance director Chris Lucas, former Chief Executive Bob Diamond, former chief operating officer Jerry del Missier, and former compliance head Stephen Morse.

A British judge ordered the bank to reveal their identities during a preliminary hearing for a test case on the mis-selling of interest rate swaps brought by a residential care home operator.

A longer list of 104 individuals who were named in court papers was released on Thursday after the judge denied their request for anonymity. The shorter list of 25, released on Friday, names those specifically referred to in regulatory documents referring to Libor manipulation.

Twenty-four of the 25 had requested anonymity - the exception being former Barclays trader Jay Merchant, who went on to become head of swaps trading at UBS before leaving his position last August amid federal scrutiny of his activities while at Barclays.

None of those named is necessarily implicated in any wrongdoing.

Guardian Care Homes alleges Barclays mis-sold interest rate hedging products based on Libor (London interbank offered rate) in a case that is shining a light on those involved in the bank's interest rate-setting process.

(Editing by David Cowell)