Regulation & Standards
Published  10 MIN READ

Tackling the Complexities of IBOR Transition

Time is running out for treasurers to complete their interbank offered rate transition projects with the deadline of December 31 2021 rapidly approaching. A recent TMI webinar with Salmon Software brought together three experts to discuss the complexities ahead, examine how treasurers can ensure they are prepared for them, and review the role technology can play in supporting this transition.

A significant number of corporate treasurers have yet to start their preparations for the changes that will be triggered by the interbank offered rate (IBOR) transition deadline at the end of the year.

That was the finding of a poll, which aimed to gauge how corporates have progressed towards the transition, conducted among treasurers during a recent TMI webinar. Given the options of ‘not started’, ‘partially started and confident on deadlines’, ‘started but having issues’, and ‘fully completed’, the majority of attendees were split into two camps: those that have started and are confident of deadlines (41%) and those that have not yet even begun (38%).

“It is rather surprising to see that quite a few of the audience haven’t started yet,” commented Svenja Schumacher, Assistant Director, Treasury Advisory, Deloitte. “The very first task on everyone’s ‘to-do’ lists should be the identification of exposures, which can take quite some time. Some exposures are easier to identify, for example, if you think of debt contracts or derivative contracts, most of those are stored in a TMS [treasury management system]. But you could also have less obvious exposures, such as lease contracts, intercompany contracts, things that could be hidden outside of treasury within the organisation.”