On 5 March 2021, ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”), the administrator of LIBOR, released the much anticipated feedback statement (“Cessation Statement”) reporting the results of its 4 December 2020 Consultation on Potential Cessation. IBA consulted on the issue of LIBOR publication cessation because “a majority of LIBOR panel banks had communicated to IBA that they would not be willing to continue contributing to the relevant LIBOR settings after [the proposed cessation] dates.” Pursuant to the Cessation Statement, IBA intends to cease publication of (i) all GBP, EUR, CHF and JPY LIBOR settings, and the 1 Week and 2 Month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on 31 December 2021, and (ii) the Overnight and 1, 3, 6 and 12 Month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on 30 June 2023, subject to any rights of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), the regulatory supervisor of IBA, to compel IBA to continue publication using a changed methodology. Individual non-confidential responses to the consultation, of the 55 responses received, can be viewed on the IBA website.
Continue Reading IBA Sets LIBOR Publication Cessation Dates and Triggers a LIBOR Transition Event

With 2021 in full swing, we have received a number of queries from our clients trying to sort out the competing recommended best practice milestones for preparing for the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates. To assist in this analysis, we have prepared a matrix—Summary of LIBOR Transition Recommendations for Key LIBOR Currencies—setting forth

The end of 2021 is fast approaching and regulators in the UK and the US remain steadfast in their encouragement for banks to stop using LIBOR where possible before that date.

In light of this, UK Finance and PwC have published Discontinuation of LIBOR – Guide for Banks and Lenders, a resource specifically focused on the transition issues faced by banks and other lenders. It is intended as a useful toolkit to support their engagement for the move away from LIBOR and to guide them to the relevant information to support preparations. The guide is especially useful for those that are less familiar with the latest detail on LIBOR discontinuation.Continue Reading The end is nigh: UK Finance publishes new guide on LIBOR discontinuation

Many IBOR remediation projects raise a basic question: How do you find, collect, review, and remediate the right contracts? A company might have thousands of contracts that need to be repapered, and those contracts might be scattered throughout electronic file systems and hardcopy records.

Fortunately, litigators have spent the past few decades wrestling with very similar questions, which crop up in the discovery process in any large-scale modern litigation. As the number of discoverable electronic documents exploded over time, litigators began developing sophisticated processes for finding, collecting, and reviewing them so that they could be produced to opposing counsel or used at trial. Those time-tested e-discovery techniques can be applied to IBOR remediation projects.Continue Reading e-Discovery and IBOR Remediation: Similar Techniques, Different Goals

As preparation for the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate and similar interbank offered rates to replacement benchmark interest rates quickly accelerates, we explore a number of recent core global developments affecting structured finance products.

Read the full article from the Winter 2020 issue of our Structured Finance Bulletin.

On November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (“IBA”) announced its intention, in early December 2020, to consult on the proposed cessation of the publication of:

  • the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on December 31, 2021; and
  • the overnight and one-, three-, six- and 12-month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on June 30, 2023.

IBA expects to close the consultation for feedback by the end of January 2021. IBA also noted that any publication of the overnight and one-, three-, six- and 12-month USD LIBOR settings based on panel bank submissions beyond December 31, 2021, will need to comply with applicable regulations, including as to representativeness.Continue Reading ICE Benchmark Administration to Consult Regarding Cessation of 1-Week and 2-Month USD LIBOR by December 31, 2021, and of Other Tenors by June 30, 2023

On November 18, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”), the authorized administrator of LIBOR regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), announced that it will consult on its intention to cease publication of all tenors of euro, sterling, Swiss franc and yen LIBOR after December 31, 2021, subject to confirmation following IBA’s consultation and any rights of the FCA to compel continued publication by IBA. IBA is still in discussions with the FCA, official sector bodies, and panel banks regarding the future of US Dollar LIBOR.
Continue Reading “The End is Nigh”: UK FCA Issues Consultations Regarding Expected New Benchmark Powers in Response to ICE Benchmark Announcement; ISDA Issues Related Statement

As everyone knows by now, with the demise of LIBOR and other IBORs, insurance companies, banks, and a wide range of other financial institutions are faced with identifying, reviewing, and remediating all active contracts that reference an IBOR rate. Many that have begun this process are learning that the process is much less daunting if those instruments are centralized in a digital contract management tool.
Continue Reading IBOR: A New Frontier for Digital Contract Management

On October 13, 2020, the Division of Market Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued swap transaction and pricing data reporting relief to specific derivatives clearing organizations (“DCOs”) and market participants participating in upcoming DCO auctions that will help transition certain cleared swaps from discounting using the Effective Federal Funds Rate to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. This discounting transition is an essential part of the industry-wide initiative to transition from swaps that reference the London Interbank Offered Rate, and other interbank offered rates, to swaps that reference alternative benchmarks.
Continue Reading US CFTC Provides Reporting Relief for Swaps Related to Upcoming DCO Auctions Required for LIBOR Transition