The interest rate benchmark LIBOR is being wound down and the UK Financial Conduct Authority has announced how it will use its powers under the UK Benchmarks Regulation to aid the orderly wind-down of sterling- and yen-linked “tough legacy contracts.”
Continue Reading FCA confirms rules for legacy use of synthetic LIBOR rates and no new use of US dollar LIBOR

 The UK Government passed the Financial Services Act 2021 (the “FS Act 2021”) on 29 April 2021, which amended the UK Benchmarks Regulation ((EU) 2016/1011) (the “UK BMR”), to provide the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA“) with new and enhanced powers to oversee the orderly wind-down of critical benchmarks. In particular, the legislation addresses the risk that LIBOR cessation poses to “tough legacy contracts” (i.e., contracts that genuinely have no or inadequate fallback rate alternatives and no realistic ability to be renegotiated or amended). The Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Bill (the “Bill”) has been drafted to address these risks.
Continue Reading The Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Bill receives its first reading in the House of Lords

On 29 April 2021, the Financial Services Act 2021 (“the Act”) received Royal Assent and became law in the United Kingdom. The Act introduced reforms to a number of key UK financial services frameworks, which also represent the first major changes to the UK regulatory landscape following the UK’s departure from the European Union on 31 December 2020. One area of reform includes amendments to the UK Benchmarks Regulation (“UK BMR”).
Continue Reading Legislative solutions to tough legacy contracts are passed into UK law