Articles by author
Syndicated loan market and LIBOR: pathway to the end of 2021
With just under a year until the demise of at least certain settings of LIBOR, 2021 will be the definitive year for progress and development of market practice. In the sterling syndicated loans market, although much progress has been made to date, both the target of the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates (£RFRWG) that there should be no new issuance of sterling LIBOR based loans after the end of Q1 2021 and the stock of legacy LIBOR referencing loans mean there is still much work to do. In this article, we take stock of recent developments and examine the pathway to the end of 2021 for the syndicated loan market.
1 FEB 2021Contractual continuity for “tough legacy” contracts
With time ticking until the end of 2021 when at least certain settings of LIBOR will cease, the UK authorities are finalising their plans for “tough” legacy through the means of legislation and powers granted to the FCA. In this article, we examine such legislation and powers with a comparative eye to alternative solutions in the US and the EU.
1 DEC 2021Practical implications of USD LIBOR panel cessation for “tough legacy” contracts: a brief refresher
LIBOR cessation and contract continuity may seem like “old news”. After all, most LIBOR rates ceased almost 18 months ago – and the last of the “synthetic” rates created for certain Sterling and Japanese Yen tenors will shortly expire. Nonetheless, the impending cessation of the final USD LIBOR panel rates on 30 June 2023 means that questions on legal implications are once again coming to the fore – especially given the FCA’s announced intention to create a time-limited synthetic USD LIBOR rate. This piece provides a brief Q&A refresher.
1 JUN 2023Loan documentation and risk-free reference rates: current overview
In this article, we give a brief overview of RFR referencing loan documentation in the English law syndicated loan markets together with the current and future issues of use of a term SOFR on USD syndicated loan transactions and risk-free reference rates in the context of euro and EURIBOR.
1 FEB 2023LMA €STR fallbacks to EURIBOR: use in corporate lending transactions
In December 2023, the Working Group on Euro Risk-Free Rates (Euro WG)11 issued their final, closing statement122 having agreed that their current mandate had been completed. 2Does this mean that work in relation to the use of risk-free reference rates based on 2€2STR 2in the context of euro has ended? The short answer is “not necessarily”: whilst the tools2 to implement use of such rates exist, some elements of the financial markets, such as the corporate lending market, have been slow to change practice. In this article we take stock 2of the potential use of such 2€2STR-related tools in the corporate lending markets.2
1 FEB 2024
