On 16 April 2019, ISDA announced the preliminary results of its consultation on the implementation of pre-cessation fallbacks for derivatives referencing LIBOR.
The consultation, commenced in February 2020, invited feedback from market participants on whether a pre-cessation trigger should be included in ISDA standard documents in addition to the permanent cessation fallbacks that ISDA is proposing to include to deal with LIBOR cessation.
The announcement provides that the initial results indicate a significant majority of respondents are in favour of including both pre-cessation and permanent cessation fallbacks as standard language in the amended 2006 ISDA Definitions for LIBOR and in a single protocol for including the updated definitions in legacy trades.
ISDA confirmed that it expects to move forward on the basis that pre-cessation fallbacks based on a ‘non-representativeness’ determination and permanent cessation fallbacks would apply to all new and legacy derivatives referencing LIBOR that incorporate the amended 2006 ISDA Definitions. The updated definitions for other covered interbank offered rates (IBORs) will continue to include permanent cessation fallbacks only.
A final report analysing the consultation results and information on next steps will be made available by ISDA in the coming weeks.