The End of LIBOR: Transitioning to an Alternative Interest Rate
Summary
Submission for the Record by SIFMA before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets in the hearing: “The End of LIBOR: Transitioning to an Alternative Interest Rate Calculation for Mortgages, Student Loans, Business Borrowing, and Other Financial Products”
SIFMA believes that Federal legislative action is necessary to address the set of issues that we discuss further below in order to facilitate the smooth transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates. In particular, there is a large stock of existing contracts and instruments that, as a practical matter, cannot be amended to utilize alternative rates.
SIFMA is supportive of Federal legislation aligned with recommendations from the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) to address these situations where contracts cannot be easily transitioned from LIBOR due to legal or regulatory reasons. We believe such legislation would benefit all market participants including LIBOR’s end users, from investors to companies to consumers, and would provide four key benefits: (1) certainty of outcomes, (2) fairness and equality of outcomes, (3) avoidance of years of paralyzing litigation, and (4) preservation of liquidity and market resilience.
Excerpt
Submission for the Record by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets
“The End of LIBOR: Transitioning to an Alternative Interest Rate Calculation for Mortgages, Student Loans, Business Borrowing, and Other Financial Products”
April 15, 20212
Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, Subcommittee Chairman Sherman, Subcommittee Ranking Member Huizenga:
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association1 (SIFMA) submits this statement for the record for the hearing titled “The End of LIBOR: Transitioning to an Alternative Interest Rate Calculation for Mortgages, Student Loans, Business Borrowing and Other Financial Products.” We thank you for convening this important hearing and applaud your leadership for making the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates a priority for the committee
Summary
SIFMA believes that Federal legislative action is necessary to address the set of issues that we discuss further below in order to facilitate the smooth transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates. In particular, there is a large stock of existing contracts and instruments that, as a practical matter, cannot be amended to utilize alternative rates. SIFMA is supportive of Federal legislation aligned with recommendations from the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) to address these situations where contracts cannot be easily transitioned from LIBOR due to legal or regulatory reasons. We believe such legislation would benefit all market participants including LIBOR’s end users, from investors to companies to consumers, and would provide four key benefits: (1) certainty of outcomes, (2) fairness and equality of outcomes, (3) avoidance of years of paralyzing litigation, and (4) preservation of liquidity and market resilience.
Our testimony today will provide background on the LIBOR transition, why it needs to happen, what has been done, and where we believe Federal legislation is appropriate and needed. We look forward to working with the Committee to move this important legislation forward.