On March 5, 2021, ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) issued a press release announcing the publication of a feedback statement on its December 2020 consultation on IBA's intention to cease publication of all tenors of LIBOR settings (see Legal Update, ICE Benchmark Administration consults on intention to cease publication of LIBOR).

On the same date, the FCA announced that panel bank submissions for all LIBOR settings will cease (after which representative LIBOR rates will no longer be available) on the following dates:

(See Legal Update, FCA Statement on Future Cessation and Loss of Representativeness of LIBOR Benchmarks.)

The IBA statement confirms that, as a result of insufficient panel bank support for continued contributions to LIBOR, it will no longer have access to the necessary input data to calculate LIBOR settings on a representative basis beyond the dates specified in the FCA's announcement. Accordingly, unless the FCA exercises its proposed new powers (which are included in the current Financial Services Bill as proposed amendments to the UK Benchmarks Regulation) to require IBA to continue publishing these LIBOR settings on a synthetic basis, IBA will have to cease publication of the relevant LIBOR settings on a representative basis after such dates.

The FCA has confirmed to IBA that it does not expect any LIBOR settings to become unrepresentative before the above intended cessation dates for such settings.

For links to Practical Law materials on the reform of interbank offered rates, including LIBOR, and the transition away from those rates to near risk-free rates, see LIBOR Replacement Toolkit.