The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will stop being published on the basis of panel bank quotes and will be replaced by alternative replacement rates after June 30, 2023. In the spirit of the season, below is the...more
Summary - As a result of the shift from LIBOR to the Secured Overnight Finance Rate (SOFR), borrowers who use interest rate swaps or options to manage interest rate risk may be asked to pay extra to maintain a hedge under...more
The Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) announced three updates to its recommendations for the use of Term SOFR. First, the ARRC clarified the scope of “business loans” that may be hedged with Term SOFR swaps....more
Back in March of 2021, we covered a number of developments pertaining to the end of LIBOR that came out of certain announcements made early that month by the Intercontinental Exchange Benchmark Administration (the “IBA”),...more
With USD LIBOR expected to end on June 30, 2023, there are numerous legal and financial implications to consider, especially as the pace of remediation of leveraged loans (and other commercial loans) needs to progress further...more
The LIBOR transition process continues to roll along. New transactions are (mostly) being closed without using LIBOR any more, and many legacy transactions are naturally transitioning when refinanced or renewed this year....more
Lots of news out of the loan market. SOFR remains a focus, we have new forms from the LSTA, and what has been deemed an “existential threat” to the syndicated loan market has reared its head once again. Here’s the rundown....more
LIBOR Relief Included In Appropriations Bill - New York Law Concerns - The New York law enacted in April 2021 provides the ‘Get Out of Jail’ card[2] for banks from litigation relating to the LIBOR (London InterBank...more
Effective December 1, 2021, the Loan Syndication and Trading Association (LSTA) has issued a revised suite of loan trading documents modified to replace LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) with SOFR (Secured Overnight...more
The hard deadline for stopping new use of USD LIBOR following 31 December 2021 is rapidly approaching. Latest market practice as at end November 2021 suggests that some loan market participants are (at last) now contracting...more
According to government regulators across the globe, everyone should have been acting to slow USD LIBOR use for the next six weeks. Except, of course, for the next six weeks… UK FCA Announcement- It is now official –...more
This was a busy week in the loan market. LIBOR transition is accelerating daily, we have a new form of credit agreement from the LSTA, and what has been deemed an “existential threat” to the syndicated loan market has reared...more
In our October 2019 alert, we advised that LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) will not be available for use as an interest rate index after December 31, 2021 (the LIBOR Cessation). As the end of 2021 approaches, here is...more
On July 29th, 2021, the Alternative Rates Reference Committee (the “ARRC”) formally recommended the adoption of CME Group’s forward-looking Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) term rates. According to the ARRC, this...more
On July 26, 2021, Neal R. Pandozzi participated as a presenter in the Strafford CLE webinar "The Phase-out of LIBOR: Navigating the Final Stages, Implementing Alternative Reference Rates and Fallback Language." The webinar...more
On April 6, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law Senate Bill S297B/Assembly Bill 164B (the “New York Legislation”), which paves the way for a smoother transition from US Dollar LIBOR and, in particular,...more
The State of New York has enacted a new law that should ease the transition away from US dollar LIBOR for legacy financial contracts that are governed by New York law but do not contain modern benchmark fallback provisions. ...more
With the use of LIBOR being phased out by the end of 2021 and its prevalence in corporate loans, adjustable-rate mortgages, floating rate notes, securitized products and derivatives products, nearly all lenders and borrowers...more
By the end of October 2020, lenders should begin adopting a “hardwired” approach to replacing the benchmark interest rate for new loan originations with LIBOR-based interest rates. That’s according to the updated ARRC...more
In the News. On the heels of a lawsuit challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) recently issued Madden fix/valid when made rule, eight state attorneys general filed suit challenging a similar rule...more
The disruption to capital markets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has not shifted the overall timeline of regulators and industry bodies for the replacement of US dollar LIBOR with SOFR by the end of 2021. With the expected...more
On May 27, 2020, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) published best practices for completing the financial industry’s transition away from U.S. dollar (USD) LIBOR. With 19 months remaining before the anticipated...more
The reference rate provided by selected panel banks to the LIBOR administrator, ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) and that is used to establish interest rates on many loans, notes, bonds and other financings, derivatives,...more
It is widely anticipated that the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) will be discontinued in 2021. As LIBOR commonly is used as an index rate for both residential mortgage and consumer loans, its discontinuance has the...more
On December 23, 2019, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued an Industry Letter instructing each institution it regulates, including banks and licensed Fintechs, to make submissions describing the...more