Regulatory challenges of LIBOR transition

Weaning the banking system off LIBOR – sometimes dubbed ‘the world’s most important number’ – is now considered the biggest regulatory challenge facing the sector. Hannah Meakin discusses the need for effective governance, achieving fair outcomes for clients, technical issues for derivatives and the mitigation of conduct risks threatened by the transition.

Hannah Meakin is a partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in London. Her practice focuseson market infrastructure, commodities derivatives and FinTech. Contact Hannah on hannah.meakin@nortonrosefulbright.com.

On 27 July 2017, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority announced that the FCA would no longer compel or persuade banks to make submissions to LIBOR as from the end of 2021. This announcement came as a result of longstanding concerns regarding the robustness of LIBOR as a benchmark.