Deutsche Bank said it received subpoenas and requests for information from U.S. and European Union agencies as part of a global probe into interbank offered rates, and that it also was being sued over alleged dollar interbank rate manipulation.  Libor is the benchmark for around $360 trillion worth of financial contracts worldwide. The U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC, the CFTC and the European Commission, were among the entities issuing requests.  The inquiries cover extensive periods - from 2005 to 2011.  The bank said it is cooperating with the investigations. Deutsche also was named in a number of civil lawsuits that were filed in U.S. federal courts.  The bank is alleged to have manipulated the dollar London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and prices of dollar Libor-based derivatives.  All civil actions, which are in their early stages, have been consolidated and the consolidated case will be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"Claims for damages are asserted under various legal theories, including violations of Commodity Exchange Act and the antitrust laws," Deutsche Bank said.

Other banks named in probes ... related to Lobor include:   Societe Generale , Citigroup , HSBC and UBS.  Barclays has said it might face regulatory action relating to the global investigation into Libor lending rates, and is in talks about resolving them with some of the authorities involved.  Royal Bank of Scotland noted in its annual report that some staff were also being investigated but it had substantial defences to claims arising from the probe. Reuters revealed in February that the U.S. Justice Department's probe had become a criminal one. For further details, go to:  [Reuters via CNBC.com, 3/20/12].