In this press release, BoE, FCA and the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates encourage market participants to: actively transition USD LIBOR contracts ahead of the cessation of the USD LIBOR panel at end-June 2023; ensure readiness for implementation of USD LIBOR fallbacks, including planned CCP conversion events and operationalisation of the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol; ensure they transition to the most robust RFRs; and, continue to actively transition any remaining legacy contracts from synthetic GBP LIBOR to SONIA.

The BoE has published minutes from this meeting held on 15 March 2023.

ESMA has updated the following Questions and Answers: Benchmarks Regulation, EMIR implementation, DLT Pilot Regulation, MiFID II and MiFIR transparency topics, MiFIR data reporting, SFTR data reporting.

This call for evidence concerns the EC’s review to check whether the scope and third-country regime of the Benchmark Regulation are still fit for purpose.  Responses are required by 29 March 2023.

Decisions of the EEA Joint Committee that amend Annex IX (Financial Services) to the EEA Agreement have been published in the Official Journal and may be downloaded individually via the following link.  Legislation covered includes Solvency II, CRD/CRR, Benchmarks Regulation and ELTIF Regulation.

The following has been published in the Official Journal: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/313 of 15 December 2022 amending the implementing technical standards laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2070 as regards benchmark portfolios, reporting templates and reporting instructions for the reporting referred to in Article 78(2) of CRD.

ESMA has published its final report on the clearing and derivative trading obligations to accompany the benchmark transition.  It sets out proposed draft regulatory technical standards amending the scope of the clearing obligation and derivative trading obligations for OTC interest rate derivatives denominated in EUR, GBP, JPY, and USD.  The draft standards have been sent to the EC for endorsement.

The parties have published MoUs concerning (i) EU critical benchmarks, and (ii) the recognition of UK benchmark administrators in the EU.

FSB’s report provides an overview of LIBOR transition efforts, provides updates from member jurisdictions on other benchmark transition efforts; presents findings from FSB’s follow-up questionnaire on supervisory issues related to LIBOR transition, and sets out conclusions and next steps.

BIS has published the latest edition which has a special focus on FX and OTC derivatives markets. Articles may be downloaded inpidually via the following link.