Japanese dealers join calls for Libor extension

Local firms struggle to adapt to remote working as coronavirus throws benchmark transition plans off course

Dealers in Japan are warning that the timetable for Libor transition is under threat from the coronavirus lockdown and the disruption to normal working practices. Even so, the industry body in charge of benchmark reform in Japan is urging firms to continue preparing for the demise of Libor at the end of 2021.

“It is becoming more and more urgent to extend the deadline set at the end of 2021,” says a rates strategist at a Japanese securities company in Tokyo. A head of derivatives valuation