Dutch bank Rabobank on Friday became the latest lender to pull out of the panel of banks that sets the influential euro interbank offered rate, known as Euribor.

A spokesman for Rabobank, which is among the banks in the euro zone with the highest credit ratings, said the bank took the decision as the very low volume of transactions in interbank lending markets has had an impact on its business.

German lender Bayerische Landesbank, or BayernLB, also said Friday it left the Euribor panel at the beginning of January for "business-strategic" reasons.

Interbank lending benchmarks--particularly Euribor's London-based cousin Libor--have been rocked by scandals over the manipulation of rates. Attempted collusion in the setting of Euribor--a closely followed benchmark which influences interest rates on trillions of dollars of loans, mortgages, and derivatives--is also being investigated by the European Union, The Wall Street Journal reported in December.

Earlier that month, the organization behind Euribor, the European Banking Federation, issued a plea to banks not to leave its panel over risks to their reputation resulting from manipulation scandals.

"Banks' responsibility in setting benchmarks is part of their core role as market participants. That responsibility must remain theirs and nobody else's. Withdrawing from the benchmark-setting process would send the wrong signal," said Guido Ravoet, the EBF's chief executive.

The organization also condemned the manipulation of interest rates. The EBF couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Two other banks, Citigroup Inc. (C) and Germany's DekaBank Group, withdrew from the Euribor panel earlier in 2012.

The withdrawal of too many banks from the panel might threaten one of the supposed advantages of Euribor compared with Libor--the much larger group of lenders it canvasses. Following the latest departures, the Euribor panel has 41 members, compared with 18 for Libor.

The two rates are compiled in slightly different ways. Instead of asking each bank how much it would cost it to borrow from a fellow bank--as is the case for Libor--Euribor is based on an estimate of how much it would cost a theoretical "prime bank" to borrow.

The three-month Euribor rate--the most closely watched--rose slightly to 0.191% Friday. A single bank leaving the panel is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on rates in the future.

In explaining its decision to leave, Rabobank said changes in money market circumstances have "strongly affected Rabobank's business."

"As a result, Rabobank evaluated its contribution to the Euribor panel from a business economics point of view. This has resulted in Rabobank's decision to terminate its contribution to the Euribor panel," the bank said.

Rabobank's resignation from the panel was effective Jan. 3, it added, making Friday the first day that it didn't contribute.

A Rabobank spokesman said the changed circumstances are linked to the drying up of liquidity in money markets since the onset of the euro-zone debt crisis, but declined to elaborate on how this has affected the bank's business.

The European Central Bank earlier in 2012 pumped cheap liquidity into the single currency's banking system in an effort to help beleaguered lenders weather the debt crisis. The flood of cash drove down interbank lending rates and suppressed volumes in the interbank lending market, as many banks chose to rely on the ECB's operations for funding.

In 2012, unsecured cash lending and borrowing reached their lowest level since 2002, according to an ECB report published in December.

Write to Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

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