While the Covid-19 outbreak is widely disrupting financial markets, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is not backing away from its deadline to transition away from financial benchmark the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
In a joint statement with the Bank of England and an industry working group, the FCA said the central assumption that firms can’t expect LIBOR will be published after the end of 2021 “has not changed.”
This deadline should remain the target for all firms to meet in their shift away from their reliance on LIBOR, it said.
“The transition from LIBOR remains an essential task that will strengthen the global financial system,” it noted.
While preparations for the transition should be able to continue, the FCA allowed that the timing of some aspects of firms’ transition efforts has been affected.
“Particularly in segments of the U.K. market that have made less progress in transition and are therefore still more reliant on LIBOR, such as the loan market, it is likely to affect some of the interim transition milestones,” it said.