WASHINGTON, DC-Libor, the world’s most ubiquitous lending rate--the commercial world, that is--is poised for change. On Friday the UK Financial Services Authority delivered a 10-point plan to fix the benchmark rate—a move short of scraping it and starting over, which was deemed all but impossible given how entrenched it is.
New rate-setting guidelines will be issued in March by the International Organization of Securities Commission—guidelines that will be the result of collaboration between the FSA and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The proposed reforms understandably are wide-sweeping, ranging from the theoretical (“market participants should be encouraged to consider and examine their present use of LIBOR as a reference rate,” the FSA report said) to the practical (“publication of individual submission is delayed by at least three months on a rolling basis, with the information remaining available to the oversight committee, the new rate administrator, and the FSA.”)
While the proposal is a lot to digest and much behind-the-scenes wrangling will take place before its final shape is revealed, thus far the commercial real estate industry has reacted with equanimity. Why? For the simple reason that despite reports of Libor’s manipulation, there has been no clear cut evidence that deals in this industry were hurt.
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