Bruised, not broken: execs say Libor switch on track despite Covid

Compressed timeline for transition may leave smaller firms struggling to meet end-2021 deadline

The financial industry may soon have an answer to an age-old paradox, as the irresistible force of the coronavirus pandemic smashes into the immovable object of the timeline to abandon the Libor interest rate benchmarks.

Some firms paused elements of their switch to alternative risk-free rates amid the turmoil that has engulfed markets since March. Broadly, many believe the work can still be completed by the end of 2021 – the earliest point at which publication of Libor could cease – but the