Construction Webinar Series: Construction Contractors: Considerations in Subcontracting Plans and OFCCP Compliance
Carrie Penman on Helpline Data Since the Pandemic
Podcast: CFTC Issues LIBOR Transition Relief for Swaps
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) officially ceased to be published on June 30, 2023. The change comes after almost 40 years of LIBOR serving as the principal benchmark rate for trillions of dollars of various...more
June 30th has passed and one-, three- and six-month USD LIBOR settings have ceased to be published. As confirmed by the FCA on 3 April 2023, the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) has begun publishing non-representative...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's new rules permitting legacy use of certain synthetic sterling and yen LIBOR settings enter into force today. The FCA has published its final notice confirming that ICE Benchmark...more
LIBOR—the London Inter-bank Offered Rate—has been a key interest rate benchmark in commercial lending since the 1980s. LIBOR is derived from the interest rates at which major banks would lend to each other on a short-term...more
The end of March has welcomed Spring, and this year it marks a new era for the financial markets, particularly for loans and financial products which would usually use Sterling LIBOR as the benchmark for calculation of...more
On February 13, 2021, the European Union’s (EU) amendments to the Benchmarks Regulation (2016/1011) (the Amended BMR) came into force, which provides a legislative fix for the cessation of LIBOR in legacy contracts. The...more
UK BMR: FCA approach to orderly wind down of LIBOR and consultation on Statements of Policy - The UK Financial Conduct Authority has published a document on the Benchmarks Regulation (UK BMR) and proposed amendments under...more
The proposed powers for the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") to manage the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") transition should address so-called "tough legacy" contracts involving UK participants but could also have...more
Over the course of the next several months, participants that are actively engaged in project financing will need to begin thinking about how to manage the transition away from the London interbank offer rate (LIBOR, known as...more
As both lenders and borrowers in the financial industry are well aware, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom publicly announced in 2017 that it would no longer compel financial institutions comprising...more
It’s time to face up to the fact that financial market participants will soon no longer be able to rely on LIBOR. No one can claim that this comes as a surprise. In 2014, in response to concerns about the reliability and...more
On May 27, 2020, the US Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) published updated best practices guidance, including a summary factsheet, complete best practices guidance and a graphical timeline. ...more
On May 27, 2020, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) published recommended best practices for preparing for the end of USD LIBOR (the “Best Practices”). The Best Practices aim to provide appropriate target...more
The transition away from LIBOR was born from the financial crisis. For years regulators have been pushing for an alternative to the dominant market benchmark. The underlying market was illiquid. The rate was set by opinion,...more
The Financial Stability Board has published its work program for 2020. The FSB confirms that it will continue to monitor developments to identify and manage new and emerging risks, work to finalize the outstanding components...more
Regulators are increasing pressure on financial institutions to demonstrate that they are proactively addressing the transition away from LIBOR. On December 23, 2019, the New York State Department of Financial Services...more
The Financial Stability Board has published a progress report on reforms to major interest rate benchmarks. The report provides the FSB's annual update on progress taken by the official sector and market participants to move...more
In 2012, the Wheatley Review recommended reform rather than replacement of LIBOR, on the basis that a transition to a new benchmark would pose an unacceptably high risk of financial instability. Reform came in the form of a...more
The SEC published a statement that encourages market participants to proactively manage their transition away from LIBOR and outlines several potential areas that may warrant increased attention during that time. It is...more
Presenters at the Benchmark Rates Forum from KPMG, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, NatWest Markets, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, TD Securities, RBS, Santander, Société Générale, UBS, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, the...more
I attended the recent ARRC roundtable discussion on the LIBOR to SOFR transition and was struck by the tenor of urgency in the discussion – urgency to begin operational preparations for the transition; urgency to inventory...more
As has been widely published in the financial services sector, the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom (FCA) has determined that banks will no longer be compelled to support the London Interbank Offered Rate...more
U.S. Financial Industry Developments - ISDA, AFME, ICMA, SIFMA and SIFMA AMG Publish Global Benchmark Report - The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), the Association of Financial Markets in Europe...more
The potential transition away from LIBOR has raised significant concerns in the financial markets, including whether LIBOR will end in 2021, what may replace it, what fallback language should be included in contracts in the...more
In 2017, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo made clear he will strive to improve, not abolish, many reforms the CFTC adopted to implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s mandate for new...more