In a letter to the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, ISDA outlined a timetable for publication of the interbank offered rate ("IBOR") fallbacks protocol and supplement.
ISDA reiterated that the launch of the IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and the IBOR Fallbacks Supplement is contingent on ISDA receiving (i) a "positive business review letter" from the DOJ and (ii) positive feedback from outside counsel in other jurisdictions after disclosure of the letter to overseas competition authorities. After these conditions are met, ISDA said that it will give approximately two weeks' notice to market participants of the official launch date and effective date of ISDA's IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and Supplement. The officials explained that during this period firms can adhere to the protocol "in escrow" so that their adherence will be effective simultaneously with the official launch.
Following the launch, the IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and the IBOR Fallbacks Supplement will be effective three months after publication - with the effective date currently expected to fall in the second half of January 2021 - after which time all new derivatives referencing the 2006 ISDA Definitions will automatically include the new fallbacks.
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