Podcast: Credit Funds: Replacing LIBOR – Steps To Consider Taking Now
This article summarizes the significant problems with the LIBOR transition in the US as compared to the UK (and the rest of the world). This summary is based upon the keynote speech at the United Kingdom Financial Conduct...more
The upcoming transition from LIBOR, which is published by ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA), to the Secured Overnight Funds Rate (SOFR), which is published by the New York Federal Reserve Bank (NYFRB), has prompted a...more
In recent weeks, U.S. banks have been receiving inquiries from the U.S. Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”) in connection with the banks’ current London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) exposure, plans for amendments which...more
Everything you need to know to be prepared for the LIBOR-SOFR transition. What to Know - ed that the US Dollar (USD) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) be replaced by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as a...more
On November 30, 2020, the ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA), the administrator of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), announced that it would consult on its plan to cease the publication of one-week and...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
For the past several years, loan market participants have been well aware of the anticipated phase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a benchmark for floating rate instruments. Based on current regulatory...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
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on June 18, 2020 (Risk Alert), which introduces an examination initiative on the upcoming...more
The Situation: The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") intends to examine registrants to assess preparation for the expected discontinuation of LIBOR and the transition to alternative reference...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 Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) announced on Wednesday, February 5th, that they will stop accepting LIBOR-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages...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
The New York Department of Financial Services has sent a letter to the institutions that it regulates requiring each such institution, by February 7, 2020, to provide to DFS a description of its “plan to address its LIBOR...more
On Dec. 23, 2019, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a letter to New York-regulated depository and non-depository institutions, insurers and pension funds directing them to submit their plans for...more
The staffs of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, Division of Investment Management (IM Division), Division of Trading and Markets, and Office of Chief Accountant (collectively, Staff) on...more
LIBOR, the reference rate for more than US$300 trillion of contracts globally and nearly US$200 trillion of US dollar contracts, is expected to cease after the end of 2021. In highlighting the limitations of the LIBOR reforms...more
On July 12, 2019, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance, Division of Investment Management, Division of Trading and Markets, and Office of the Chief Accountant (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
SIFMA hosted a briefing on July 15 at which presenters from the NY Fed, FCA, ARRC, Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and SIFMA discussed the progress that has been made thus far in preparing for the transition from LIBOR...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