This 2-day course offers an insight into the journey from IBOR rates to their new replacement benchmarks, from the perspective of banks, companies and investors.
The future of interest rate benchmarks is uncertain except for one thing: IBOR rates will be coming to an end in the next two years; and banks, companies and investors need to be ready. Rocked by a rate-rigging scandal and latterly by the absence of an underlying market, regulators have called time on IBOR rates and are pushing the world towards more robust alternatives.
This course examines the role IBOR rates have played in finance, growing from almost nothing 40 years ago to one of the most important numbers in world markets; a number that underpins 100s of trillions of USD of cash and derivative contracts.
On day one we look at the role of IBOR rates and what requirements their replacements need to satisfy, before examining the details of the regulatory-approved replacements - 'the risk-free rates (RFRs)'. We then consider the transition process that must be undertaken by banks, companies and investors to meet the regulators deadlines to be ready for the end of IBOR. Day one finishes with a look at the new RFR-linked bonds - how the bonds work and how they have been received by the market.
Day two starts by looking at the role of IBOR in corporate lending, and how the transition to RFR-linked loans might work. We consider the tricky subject of a forward-looking RFR rate and how one might be determined. We then progress to the world of derivatives and the details, and pricing, of the new RFR-linked futures and swaps markets.
We finish the course by considering the process of migrating legacy IBOR deals to RFR-linked terms - the contractual considerations and how we agree a fair transition price. We examine the latest ISDA consultation results and discuss the likely calculation process for fallback rates for legacy interest rate derivatives, as well as the P/L consequences.
Who should attend?
Corporate bankers - relationship managers and treasury managers.
Bank money market, bond and derivative traders and salespeople.
Investors - institutional investors, fund managers, private traders.
Company treasury managers and staff, accountants, risk managers.
Course methodology
The course consists of classroom-based training which combines formal teaching of concepts and technical content, with individual and group exercises to reinforce learning points.