UK’s tough legacy fix spells trouble for US Libor transition

FCA will have little control over how synthetic Libor rates are used in other jurisdictions

In their rush to rid the financial world of Libor rates, regulators glossed over a stubborn problem: an untold number of so-called tough legacy contracts are hardwired to the discredited benchmark and cannot be re-hitched to alternatives. With less than 18 months until Libor’s scheduled phase-out, regulators are finally addressing the issue head-on.

“The whole ballgame here is tough legacy and there’s no simple solution for it,” says Anne Beaumont, a partner at law firm Friedman Kaplan.

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