8.14.20
Despite market issues caused by the pandemic, federal regulators in both the U.S. and the U.K. stated that transition away from LIBOR is still on pace to be completed by 2021. Many market experts were concerned about the state of transition as the beginning of the pandemic led to LIBOR prices to fluctuate significantly, but Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) Chair Tom Wipf stated that these fluctuations were a reminder about why markets need to transition away from LIBOR. Within the U.K., the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated that an extension on LIBOR was “out of the question” with FCA Senior Regulator Edwin Schooling Latter noting that the next “four to six months ahead of us are arguably the most critical period in the transition away from LIBOR.”