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Dr Markus Wolf

Dr Markus Wolf is a senior associate in Baker McKenzie’s Banking and Finance team in Zurich. Email: markus.wolf@bakermckenzie.com

markus.wolf@bakermckenzie.com

Articles by author

Approaching the endgame: LIBOR transition in the Swiss syndicated loan market

As readers of JIBFL will be well aware, it is expected that LIBOR will no longer be available after the end of 2021, with the exception of certain tenors for USD LIBOR that will be published until the end of June 2023 and, potentially, a synthetic LIBOR for certain currency-tenor settings. While EUR LIBOR will cease to be available, there are no current plans to discontinue EURIBOR. With the Swiss franc (CHF) being one of the five LIBOR currencies and CHF LIBOR being used as reference rate for the calculation of interest in virtually every CHF denominated syndicated credit facility agreement, LIBOR transition poses an immense challenge to the Swiss syndicated loan market. Although we have seen the first pathfinder transactions using risk free rates,1 the Swiss market is yet to experience a big shift.

1 MAR 2021