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Kevin Ryan is a partner in the Finance and Bankruptcy Practice Group in the firm's Chicago office.

As market participants prepare to submit comments on the recent proposal of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) (available here) to require the temporary publication of a “synthetic” 1-, 3- and 6-month USD LIBOR, some have voiced concern that such a compelled publication of a synthetic USD LIBOR could precipitate a wave of litigation over whether certain U.S. law-governed contracts will be able to fall back to contractually agreed alternative rates in June 2023.Continue Reading Synthetic USD LIBOR

As expected, on July 28, 2021, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) formally recommended the CME’s SOFR Term Rate.  The SOFR Term Rate is known in advance of the related interest period and provides an indicative, forward-looking measurement of SOFR based on market expectations implied from leading derivatives markets.  In this respect, the SOFR Term Rate functions in a manner similar to today’s LIBOR rates.  In contrast, the Daily Simple SOFR or Daily Compounded SOFR used for interest periods beyond overnight can only be determined in arrears.  The SOFR Term Rate thus facilitates in a significant way the transition away from the current LIBOR markets.
Continue Reading ARRC Formally Recommends Term SOFR