Policymakers and Major Market Players Share Their Views on Current LIBOR Challenges – Finance and Banking

In a roundtable hosted by ISDA, policymakers and market participants described continued efforts to support companies that have yet to transition from LIBOR to the new benchmark rates, and raised the continuing challenges posed by existing contracts and “synthetic” LIBOR.

The following topics were discussed:

• UK Financial Conduct Authority’s Director of Markets and Wholesale Policy, Edwin Schooling, addressed issues relating to the role of “synthetic” LIBOR;
• James von Moltke, Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Bank and Chairman of the Euro Risk Free Rates Working Group spoke of the prospect of a legislative solution for the switch from EONIA to € STR;
• Nathan Wuerffel, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Head of Domestic Markets Group, discussed US regulatory pressure to use SOFR and other benchmarks that may be important;
• Tom Wipf, Morgan Stanley vice chairman, Institutional Securities and chairman of the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, highlighted the effect of the SOFR First initiative and other issues for the benchmark landscape in the United States. United in 2022; and
• Arthur Yuen, deputy managing director of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, noted the progress in Asia on the LIBOR transition.

Primary sources

1. ISDA IQ Roundtable: Keeping the momentum going

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