The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today issued final messages before the important end-June 2023 deadline.

It is now one month until the US dollar LIBOR panel ends on 30 June 2023. This is the last remaining LIBOR panel and its end marks another critical milestone in the transition away from LIBOR.

In November 2022, the FCA consulted on its proposals for a synthetic US dollar LIBOR. In April 2023, the regulator confirmed its intention to require IBA, LIBOR’s administrator, to continue to publish the 1-, 3- and 6-month US dollar LIBOR settings in synthetic form until end-September 2024.

Ahead of the 30 June 2023 deadline, market participants must be prepared for the following:

• The overnight and 12 month-US dollar LIBOR settings will cease after final publication on 30 June 2023.
• The 1-, 3-, and 6-month US dollar LIBOR settings will be published in synthetic form from 3 July 2023 until end-September 2024, for use in legacy contracts only (other than in cleared derivatives).
• All new use of these remaining US dollar LIBOR settings will be prohibited. This overrides the exemptions the FCA permitted to the restriction on new use imposed from 1 January 2022, and as such all new use will be prohibited under the UK Benchmarks Regulation from 1 July 2023.

As the FCA has explained in the past, synthetic LIBOR settings are not representative, and are only a temporary solution to allow more time to complete transition and ensure the orderly wind-down of LIBOR. Firms must continue to actively transition contracts that reference LIBOR to appropriate, robust reference rates, and the regulator continues to expect firms to deliver demonstrable progress.