By Sarah N. Lynch and Alexandra Alper. WASHINGTON, Oct 2- Two Senate Republicans on Tuesday slammed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for failing to wean U.S. firms off a key British benchmark interest rate that he knew was being rigged, resulting, the lawmakers said, in costly litigation that hurts American taxpayers.
Grassley's letter comes as the Justice Department, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority continue to probe whether banks colluded to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, which underpins trillion of dollars in contracts and loans-- from U.S. mortgages to Japanese interest-rate swaps.
WASHINGTON, Oct 1- The top U.S. derivatives regulator said on Monday that his agency aimed to complete rules dictating the amount of margin, or collateral, needed to back uncleared swaps trades by early next year.