London ( CNN ) -- Barclays on Monday announced the resignation of its chairman , Marcus Agius , in the widening scandal surrounding the bank 's manipulation of interbank lending rates in 2008 and 2009 . In a statement to the London Stock Exchange , Agius said the scandal has `` dealt a devastating blow '' to Barclays ' reputation . `` As chairman , I am the ultimate guardian of the bank 's reputation . Accordingly , the buck stops with me and I must acknowledge responsibility by standing aside , '' he added . Barclays was fined US $ 450 million last week by British and U.S. regulators after the bank admitted some of its trading desks purposely under-reported its interest rates as part of LIBOR ( London interbank Offered Rate ) -- an interest rate floor between big banks that is set in London each trading morning . Authorities are also investigating other banks , with Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS ) understood to have fired some of its traders involved in LIBOR , according to British media reports . Britain 's Financial Services Authority on Friday said the law must be tightened to deal with abuses , while Bank of England Governor Mervyn King attacked British banking culture , saying something had gone very wrong with an industry he derided for resorting to `` deceitful '' methods to make money . Meanwhile , Agius will stay on as chairman while the board searches for his replacement . Chief Executive Bob Diamond is also facing calls to resign . Both Diamond and Agius are expected to appear before a UK parliamentary committee later this week to face questions about the saga . The bank says it will also launch an audit into all of its past business practices and has vowed to make its findings public . Barclays will also introduce a mandatory code of practice to be applied across the entire bank .
Barclays was fined $ 450 million last week by British and U.S. regulators . It admitted some of its analysts had deliberately under - reported interbank interest rates . Chairman Marcus Agius says he will step down when a replacement is found . Agius and CEO Bob Diamond face questions from UK Parliament .