The FDIC filed a lawsuit in the federal district of New York, on Friday 14th March, accusing 16 of the world’s largest banks[1] of manipulation of the discredited benchmark rate-series, committing fraud and violating U.S. antitrust laws. The suit is made on behalf of a group of 38 U.S. banks, all casualties of the 2008 […]

We have added new dates to our regulatory timeline relating to the EU Benchmark Regulation, a piece of legislation that is currently in the shadow of EMIR and MiFID II but will materially affect many market participants, whether: Creators of indices; Providers of data used to calculate indices; or Investors in financial products linked to […]

On 11 October 2013, ISDA published the “ISDA 2013 Discontinued Rates Maturities Protocol” (the “DRM Protocol”), a protocol which amends confirmations relating to “Protocol Covered Transactions”. It’s truly amazing how so many words can be used to convey so simple a message.  The effect of the amendment is that, in the absence of an agreed […]

On 12 June 2013, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) announced changes to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) in an attempt to restore confidence in Libor as a reliable benchmark in the wake of last year’s rate-fixing scandal.  Following recommendations of the Wheatley Review published last September, the BBA press release and announcement state that: […]

On 25 March 2013, ISDA published a guidance note and amendment letter  for use by firms in amending the terms of transactions which refer to LIBOR rates for currencies and maturities which are due to be phased out by the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) following the Wheatley Review into possible reforms to the methodology for […]