[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Welcome to "The Gold Rush of 2012" The Libor investigations conducted by the CFTC and the FSA, that concluded with a stunning $452 million settlement with Barclays, has drawn regulators from all over the world – setting off a "gold rush" of sorts – with each seeking to participate in future bank settlements relating to alleged manipulation of the Libor rate. So, it may not come as such a surprise to learn that the latest regulators to enter the Libor investigation are prosecutors from the states of New York and Connecticut – a joint effort by NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and CT Attorney General George Jepsen. Currently, at least 14 banks are under investigation.  The investigations which are led by CFTC and FSA prosecutors, are targeting these financial institutions for likely settlements, as well as criminal indictments against the banks and individual traders. Scope of NY and CT Investigations. It's understood that prosecutors from New York and Connecticut are looking at Libor's impact on the cost of financial contracts - so-called interest-rate swaps - which municipalities and state agencies buy as insurance policies to help manage their debt cost.  To this end, they may pursue civil enforcement action, including possible breaches of antitrust and fraud laws, according to New York officials.  They would probably are banking on collecting a small percentage of what the CFTC and the FSA collected from Barclays - $452 million.  No doubt, "there's gold in them thar' hills." Progress Report. Massachusetts and Florida are also under-taking their own Libor investigations, according to each state's Office of the Attorney General.  MA state treasurer Steve Grossman asked his colleagues to "take an inventory in every conceivable pool of assets and financial instruments" that might have been affected.  Florida prosecutors are reviewing the Libor issue "to determine if there is anything our office should be pursuing," according to a spokesman for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

[C-I Note: It's anyone's guess how many states eventually enter the Libor sweepstakes.  State officials say they aren't trying to duplicate work already under way by the Justice Department, yet so far, their efforts have not produced any results.  It clearly is not easy work, this mining for gold.]

For further details, go to [WSJ, 7/16/12].