On 21 September 2020, Steven Maijoor, Chair at the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”), delivered a speech at City Week 2020 in London. He gave a summary of the most recent and upcoming steps with regard to the implementation of the Euro Short-Term Rate (“€STR”)—an unsecured, transaction-based overnight rate—as the new market standard interest rate for Euro-based borrowings.…

Perhaps responding to complaints about the lack of global coordination of transition for the expected cessation of LIBOR by December 31, 2021, the Financial Stability Board (“FSB”) issued a Global Transition Roadmap (“GTR”) for LIBOR on October 16.…

On October 13, 2020, the Division of Market Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued swap transaction and pricing data reporting relief to specific derivatives clearing organizations (“DCOs”) and market participants participating in upcoming DCO auctions that will help transition certain cleared swaps from discounting using the Effective Federal Funds Rate to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. This discounting transition is an essential part of the industry-wide initiative to transition from swaps that…

On Friday, October 9, 2020, the US Internal Revenue Service released Revenue Procedure 2020-44 (the “Revenue Procedure”), providing retroactive but limited relief for amending specific types of legacy contracts to add fallback mechanics for LIBOR or other IBORs. The fallback language included must rather strictly follow select model contract language recommended by the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (the “ARRC”) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”).…

On October 9, ISDA published a statement from its board of directors announcing that ISDA will launch the IBOR Fallbacks Supplement to the 2006 ISDA Definitions and the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol on October 23, 2020, and that the supplement and the amendments made by the protocol will take effect on January 25, 2021. According to the statement, the protocol will remain open for adherence after the January 25, 2021, effective date. Also on…

On September 28, 2020, the Loan Syndication and Trading Association (“LSTA”)[1] exposed draft revisions to the LSTA form of Par/Near Par Loan Trade Confirmation Standard Terms and Conditions to facilitate the transition from LIBOR to SOFR (or other alternative risk-free rates (“RFRs”)) for the US syndicated loan market.  Once these revisions are finalized, comparable revisions will be made to the LSTA’s distressed documentation.…

On October 2, 2020, the US Loan Syndication and Trading Association (“LSTA”)[1] released for comment an exposure draft of LIBOR Replacement Provisions for Amendment of CLO Indenture and announced its intention to publish a final version in November. The LSTA stated that the purpose of the operative LIBOR replacement provisions and accompanying form of supplemental indenture is to provide a template for CLO investors and transaction parties to use in connection with a CLO…