Thomson Reuters says has Libor all-clear, sees new role

LONDON Dec 13 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters said on Thursday it wanted to play a role administrating overhauled interbank lending rates after British regulators told the news and information company it was not part of a global probe into rate fixing.

"The FSA (Financial Services Authority) and Bank of England have said informally that we are not subject of the ongoing investigation. We see ourselves having a role (in Libor rates), but we need to see the tender first," a Thomson Reuters spokeswoman said.

Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters, started compiling and distributing Libor (London interbank offered rate) -- a benchmark for trillions of dollars worth of derivatives -- for the British Bankers Association (BBA) trade body in 2005.

Libor, designed to estimate the costs at which banks lend to each other, came under scrutiny during the worst of the 2007/08 financial crisis and doubts over the rates sparked a wide-ranging international investigation into manipulation.

In September, Martin Wheatley, FSA managing director, recommended changes to how Libor was set, governed and supervised. A replacement for the BBA as Libor administrator is now being selected by an independent panel.

Privately held Bloomberg LP, which competes with Thomson Reuters, declined to comment.