Welcome to the latest issue of Mayer Brown's IBOR Transition Digest—a periodic compendium of global regulatory and market developments and insights on the complex issues confronting financial market participants as they plan to transition from LIBOR and its variants to replacement benchmark interest rates. As attention to IBORtransition accelerates and becomes more focused, it is critical to have access to comprehensive and timely resources about the market.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
US FRB Issues
Examiner Guidance for Assessing LIBOR Transition
Progress
Eye on IBOR Transition Blog, 11 March 2021
On 9 March 2021, the US Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System issued SR 21-7, Assessing Supervised
Institutions' Plans to Transition Away from the Use of the
LIBOR, providing guidance to its bank examiners on how to
assess the progress of supervised institutions in preparing to
transition away from USD LIBOR as a reference rate.
NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS
United States – General
ARRC Announces
Refinitiv as Publisher of its Spread Adjustment Rates for Cash
Products
Alternative Reference Rates Committee, 17 March 2021
Following a 2020 consultation
process, the ARRC has chosen Refinitiv as the ARRC's
preferred spread adjustment vendor, ensuring that recommended
spread adjusted rates can be accessed effectively by market
participants.
ARRC announces
"The SOFR Symposium: The Final Year"
Alternative Reference Rates Committee, 11 March 2021
The ARRC plans to hold a series of webinars addressing the
ARRC's endgame announcements, SOFR developments, and the
ARRC's 2021 priorities.
Asia/Pacific Rim – Derivatives
The End of LIBOR
and the Australian Market – speech of
Assistant Governor Christopher Kent at the ISDA Virtual Conference:
Benchmark Strategies Forum Asia Pacific
Reserve Bank of Australia, 18 March 2021
"I'd like to stress that there is no alternative
path to follow to move away from LIBOR. Waiting and seeing –
for what others do or what other more convenient benchmarks might
emerge in the future – is not a viable transition
plan."
Keynote Address
at ISDA Virtual Conference: Benchmark Strategies Forum Asia
Pacific – speech by Edmond Lau, Senior
Executive Director
Hong Kong Monetary Authority, 17 March 2021
"LIBOR transition is so complicated and involves so
many parties in both bilateral and multilateral negotiation so that
smooth transition will require collective and timely efforts from
all of us to make it happen."
Response to the
Letter regarding Transitioning Away from LIBOR, Published Jointly
by the FSA and BOJ
Bank of Japan, 11 March 2021
BOJ and FSA published "Response to the
announcement on the end date of LIBOR panel publication and the
announcement on the intention to consult on the publication of
synthetic yen LIBOR," supporting the proposal to publish a
synthetic JPY LIBOR.
MAYER BROWN EVENTS
Replays of all of our IBOR Transition Webinar Series presentations are available via iTunes podcasts, Google play or Spotify, as well as on the IBOR Transition Webinar Series page of our dedicated IBOR Transition portal.
For additional resources and an introduction to our global cross-practice IBOR Transition Task Force, please visit Mayer Brown's IBOR Transition portal.
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This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.