Alerts Archive

On 17 December 2024, we published a package of documentation to assist with the implementation of robust EURIBOR fallbacks including: single currency euro exposure drafts; exposure draft wording for the Bloomberg EURIBOR-€STR Spread; and a guidance note on fallbacks to interbank term rates and LMA documentation.

The LMA is pleased to have published exposure draft RFR terms to further assist the market with the transition away from JIBAR to ZARONIA in South Africa. 

On 5 September 2024, the FCA made a final announcement on the forthcoming end of LIBOR. The FCA confirmed that there will be no extension to the end-September 2024 deadline and that the last remaining synthetic USD LIBOR settings will permanently cease after their final publication on 30 September 2024.

The South African Reserve Bank’s Market Practitioners Group (MPG) legal workstream (which oversees legal matters related to the switch from JIBAR to ZARONIA) is holding their second Legal Industry Webinar on the transition to ZARONIA.  The LMA will be speaking on the webinar alongside ICMA and senior members of the MPG. 

The LMA and APLMA are pleased to have published a joint open letter urging loan market participants to take all necessary steps to complete USD LIBOR transition. The FCA has made clear that the remaining tenors of USD synthetic LIBOR will be discontinued by end-September. We urge all loan market stakeholders to pass this message on to ensure no-one is left unprepared.

Click Read more to take part in our survey on the LMA’s RFR documentation suite. The results of the survey will help us in our ongoing process of reviewing and consolidating our documentation suite. The survey consists of 12 questions and requests your views on various RFR related documentation topics including EURIBOR fallbacks, alternative term rates, term SOFR fallbacks, baseline CAS and the most often used interest rate drafting. 

The LMA will be taking part in a FTSE Russell webinar alongside ESMA looking at the progress in the loan market of the adoption of the Euro RFR Working Group’s recommendations on fallbacks to EURIBOR. One of the Working Group’s recommendations was for market participants to include a forward-looking €STR term rate-based fallback into specific segments of the loan and trade finance market.  

The LMA encourages members with EURIBOR-referencing loans to attend this FTSE Russell webinar. This is a unique opportunity for members to hear directly from, and ask questions to, ESMA on the EURIBOR fallback recommendations.  

Date: 26 June 2024

Time: 2:00pm BST / 3:00pm CET with Q&A

On 9 May 2024, we published further South African law documentation to assist the loan market in transitioning away from JIBAR to compounded ZARONIA. The Unsecured Single Currency Single Borrower Term and Revolving Facilities Agreement Incorporating Rate Switch Provisions (the “Exposure Draft SA Rate Switch Agreement”) provides for an in-built switch from JIBAR to a backward-looking compounded ZARONIA on the occurrence of specified trigger events.  It includes mechanics and provisions for transition which are intended to mitigate the risk of a further amendment being required.

With only 4 months to go until the cessation of CDOR, the LMA would like to invite members to two events being hosted by the Bank of Canada on the CDOR transition. 

29 February, PwC/CARR live webinar on the CDOR transition (4:00pm GMT)
This session will be focused on lending and hedging, as well as the transition away from the Bankers’ Acceptance market. For more information and to access the live event, please register with PwC at https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1653571&tp_key=3ea818391d. 

12 March, CDOR will end in less than 4 months: How financial markets are adapting to CORRA (in-person event)
The High Commission of Canada in the UK, in partnership with TMX and in collaboration with the CARR, will be hosting a panel discussion with industry experts including the CARR co-chairs, on the current transition from CDOR to CORRA. 
Event details:  12 March 2024, 16:00 - 18:00 GMT, Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London SW1Y 5BJ
To register, please send your RSVP to christiane.lavallee@tmx.com.  

We have been part of the Euro RFR Working Group and have worked with the Group on strengthening fallbacks to EURIBOR. 

On 1 February 2024, we published an updated version of our term €STR fallback exposure draft and related commentary following market feedback. As feedback received was generally supportive of the exposure draft, there have been no major changes. However, given the lack of market practice in the use of term €STR fallbacks, the LMA has not yet moved this document to recommended form.  As a result, we need members to provide us with ongoing feedback from the provisions being used on transactions. 

We have also updated the existing form of German law investment grade documentation to include a switch to compounded €STR upon a permanent cessation or non-representativeness of EURIBOR. 

We are pleased to have published a user guide and revised recommended form of replacement of screen rate clause for the LMA’s South African law documents (“SA revised replacement of screen rate clause”). The SA revised replacement of screen rate clause is based on the LMA’s existing 2018 revised replacement of screen rate clause (as updated) produced in the context of LIBOR transition. However, it also has regard to the work of the MPG on sample reference language for bilateral loans and reflects specifics of the South African market and JIBAR transition. In order to provide additional context, there are footnotes explaining any differences in the LMA clause and the MPG sample clause.

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We have published an updated CORRA Schedule which provides drafting for term CORRA in addition to compounded CORRA. Further, we have updated both our CORRA Schedule and TONA Schedule to reflect the updated definition of the “Daily Rate” in the updated IG compounded rate documents to provide for an interim fallback to a historic rate (prior to the application of a central bank rate plus any adjustment spread). This addresses what is sometimes referred to as the “Good Friday issue”.

We are pleased to have published an exposure draft multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement which incorporates term €STR fallbacks from EURIBOR. This is accompanied by a cover note providing a high-level summary of the fallback provisions set out in the document, and a separate commentary providing further detail of the provisions. Today, we have also published updated versions of our investment grade compounded rate facilities agreements, along with updated versions of the related term sheets and commentaries. 

LMA.Automate is delighted to have produced a new bilateral facility agreement, which has been made available to all subscribers on the platform. We believe this new template, being the first of its kind, will have a broad and compelling use case for all LMA.Automate subscribers, whether lenders or law firms.

We are pleased to have published our exposure draft term SOFR documentation as recommended form. The related term SOFR commentary has also been updated. The move to recommended form follows the increasing use in the market of the term SOFR provisions in the exposure drafts, market feedback received, the length of time since publication of the exposure drafts and the impending end-June 2023 deadline for US dollar LIBOR transition. 

The LMA is pleased to have published a note focusing on LMA facility documentation and the recommendations published by the working group on euro risk-free rates on EURIBOR fallback trigger events and €STR-based EURIBOR fallback rates (Euro WG Recommendations). Particularly, the note outlines the current approach taken to the Euro WG Recommendations in the LMA's recommended forms of English law multicurrency facility documentation which reference risk-free reference rates from the outset and aims to help market participants understand how they can use existing LMA RFR documentation to implement robust fallbacks to EURIBOR.    

We are pleased to have published a schedule for compounded in-arrear CORRA. This has been produced in response to demand from some participants in the syndicated lending market to provide a suggested form of drafting for use of compounded in-arrear CORRA in conjunction with the structure for use of compounded in-arrear risk-free reference rates contained in the LMA's existing compounded rate facilities agreements. As it is designed to work with the structure in the compounded rate facilities agreement, the schedule is largely technical in nature and follows the form of the other currency schedules already contained in the compounded rate facilities agreements. 

The LMA is pleased to have published a new exposure draft multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement incorporating term SOFR (the IG Term SOFR Exposure Draft). The LMA has also released an updated expsoure draft single currency term and revolving facilities agreement incorporating term SOFR for use in developing markets jurisdictions, alongside an updated commentary (the Term SOFR Commentary), to reflect the IG Term SOFR Exposure Draft.

The LMA is pleased to announce the publication of an updated version of its senior single currency term facility agreement for real estate finance multiproperty investment transactions (senior/mezzanine) which envisages the use of risk-free rates from the outset. A mark-up against the previous LIBOR referencing document has also been published at the same time so that members can see the changes that have been made.

The LMA is pleased to have published revised Trade Confirmations with an effective date of 18 February 2022. The revised Trade Confirmations incorporate amended wording in Other Terms of Trade tick-boxes for the exclusion of CAS and inclusion of zero floor options where Delayed Settlement Compensation applies. The revised Trade Confirmations (and amended wording for the tick-boxes) has not changed the position on these commercial issues and whether or not they apply to a particular trade must continue to be agreed by the parties at the time of trade. The Standard Terms & Conditions dated 4 January 2022 also remain unchanged.

The LMA is pleased to have published further documentation to assist the market with the transition to RFRs including a compounded TONA schedule, the French language version of the RFR French law document, an updated designated entity clause and updated RFR destination table.

The LMA has published its RFR Destination Table, which is intended to assist members in identifying the LMA RFR-referencing document which is most directly comparable to any given LMA LIBOR-referencing document. Where there is no direct equivalent, the table sets out the RFR-referencing document(s) which is/are most closely related and may be most helpful. The LMA has also published versions of the existing suite of German, Spanish and French law investment grade documentation based on compounded RFRs from the outset in place of LIBOR along with accompanying updated user guides.