Why I’m bothering to write about SOFR transition at this point is a bit of a mystery. Hasn’t this topic now finally exhausted both our energy and interest? Oh, and a European war is being fought as I write which, to say the least, renders the kerfuffle over LIBOR somewhat less than consequential. But irrelevancy … Continue Reading
The Great Index Reformation is coming. (I note in passing that the last Reformation led to the 100 Years War…just saying.) This is a massive change to our market that did not bubble up from the great unwashed on the barricades demanding change, but something that has been driven from the regulatory heights. More a … Continue Reading
While many of us may be sneaking in one final summer vacation, the ARRC showed no signs of a slowdown as they formally recommended the CME Term SOFR Rates. Issues with SOFR aside, it looks like the rate really is here to stay. Read more about the latest developments from Dechert’s LIBOR task force in their … Continue Reading
To my gentler readers, first an apology for this interregnum in publication. I’ve been sitting on this commentary like a hen on an egg for weeks. All I can say is having to work for a living gets in the way of writing about interesting stuff. It’s now July and supposedly the transition from LIBOR … Continue Reading
God knows I’m as sick of LIBOR transition as you are and writing about it twice in quick succession is annoying, but I think necessary. Here’s the headline which I don’t think has gotten the visibility it deserves: LIBOR will largely end at the end of this year and not in the misty remove of … Continue Reading
We’ve written before about our anxiety regarding the fact that SOFR does not really seem fit for purpose to support commercial mortgage lending or indeed any cash product. (The nonsense about charging interest in arrears should have been a tell, to be honest.) Of course, the real problem is the absence of a credit-sensitive component … Continue Reading
First, the ARRC, playing Charlton Heston, playing Moses, brings down from on high the ten commandments of SOFR and lo, we were sore afraid and with veneration, professed we had no God but SOFR. A solution of sorts to a somewhat self-inflicted problem. As we have observed before, we continue to think the solution to … Continue Reading
So, once again, time for Dechert’s acclaimed (at least by us) Annual Golden Turkey Awards. It is rather a difficult time for comedy; we are in the throes of a completely unfunny pandemic. Sitting down to finalize this year’s list gave me some sympathy for our late-night talk show hosts who are very publicly pining … Continue Reading
In the fourth installment of our new LIBORcast program, Matthew Hays and Jonathan Gaynor discussed interest rate caps, derivatives and value transfer with Chatham Financial’s Rob Mangrelli and Matt Hoffman. Tune in to hear about the cost of a SOFR interest rate cap, adoption of the ISDA protocol and rate fragmentation in the post-LIBOR market. By the … Continue Reading
Regulators have been increasing their scrutiny of LIBOR transition efforts as they ramp up messaging stressing that the time to act is now. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert to introduce a LIBOR Examination Initiative on the upcoming discontinuation of, and transition … Continue Reading
This week on the LIBORcast, Dechert’s series on all things related to the LIBOR transition, our very own Sarah Smith and Karen Stretch interviewed Helen Boyd and Nick Miller from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”).… Continue Reading
