On 1 December 2023, the FCA published a notice of first decision, dated 15 November 2023, which has been issued to ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) under Article 21(3) of the UK Benchmarks Regulation. The notice sets out the FCA’s decision to compel IBA to continue publishing 3-month sterling LIBOR (the LIBOR
On 1 February 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a final report on the clearing and derivative trading obligations in view of the 2022 status of the benchmark transition.
The report sets out proposed draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) amending the scope of the clearing (CO)
Introduction
On 23 November 2022, the FCA published Consultation Paper 22/11 ‘Consultation on ‘synthetic US dollar LIBOR and feedback to CP22/11’ (CP22/11).
In June 2022, the FCA consulted on ceasing ‘synthetic’ sterling LIBOR. The FCA also sought information on US dollar LIBOR exposures in order to help the FCA assess whether to require
On 21 October 2022, the FCA published LIBOR Notice: Article 21(3) Benchmarks Regulation – Notice of first decision.
The notice sets forth that the FCA has decided to compel ICE Benchmark Administration Limited to continue publishing 1- month sterling, and 6- month sterling LIBOR.
The compulsion period shall be for 3 months starting immediately after
On 29 September 2022, the FCA announced that following its earlier consultation in June it will be requiring the continued publication of the 1- and 6-month synthetic sterling LIBOR settings for a further three months after the end of 2022, until 31 March 2023. The FCA adds that it has no intention to use its
Introduction
On 30 August 2022, the ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) published a consultation on its intention to cease the publication of all ICE swap rate settings based on USD LIBOR.
The consultation
Following the FCA’s announcement on March 5, 2021, regarding the future cessation and loss of representativeness of USD LIBOR, IBA
On 24 August 2022, the Bank of England (BoE) published a Policy Statement setting out its final policy in relation to adding overnight index swaps (OIS) that reference the Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) to the scope of contracts subject to the derivatives clearing obligation (DCO) and
On 16 August 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a statement encouraging issuers and bond holders of outstanding LIBOR-linked bonds to consider taking necessary action to transition outstanding LIBOR-linked bonds to fair alternative rates.
The FCA is encouraging:
On 9 February 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) provided an update regarding the achievements in sterling markets since the LIBOR transition on 31 December 2021, what more needs to be done and how the Working Group will operate going forward. Sterling markets navigated the transition on time and with minimal disruption, supporting global transition