The IBOR transition: everything you need to know

Find out how the interest rate switch will affect you.

• Understanding IBOR rates
• What is LIBOR?
• Why the change?
• What are they switching to?
• How are we adjusting for this change?
• How will the switch affect your trading?

Understanding IBOR rates

Interbank offered rates (IBORs) are interest rate benchmarks used for a broad range of financial products and contracts.

The majority of IBOR rates will cease to exist by the end of 2021. This means all benchmarks falling under the IBOR umbrella, including the prominent London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), will soon be phased out and replaced by alternative rates.

What is LIBOR?

Since the 1980s, LIBOR was viewed as the benchmark interbank lending rate used to calculate the rate at which banks would offer short-term loans to each other. Until the 2008 financial crisis, LIBOR was seen as the gold standard for measuring the health of the entire global financial system.

Why the change?

Regulators have expressed concerns about the reliability and sustainability of IBORs. Stringent liquidity rules brought on by the 2008 financial crisis, coupled with LIBOR’s loss of credibility due to scandals and its part in the crisis, saw IBORs becoming less attractive for short-term, unsecured interbank lending.

This led to a significant decline in the interbank unsecured funding markets in the last decade, as well as a lack of liquidity - leading to a market which is not adequately representative, prompting regulators to shift their preference towards Alternative Reference Rates (ARRs).

What are they switching to?

IBOR users will be switching to Alternative Reference Rates (ARRs). ARRs are based on actual overnight interest rates in liquid wholesale cash and derivative markets – making them more robust and less volatile than IBORs.

Since ARRs are risk-free rates, they don’t incorporate the credit risk that is inherent in the calculation of IBORs, which are based on interbank lending over longer time periods.

Each currency has its own alternative reference rate as follows:

How are we adjusting for this change?

To compensate for the missing credit risk, we will be adjusting the ARRs by the one-month spread adjustment proposed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).

How will the switch affect your trading?

We’ve used IBORs for the calculation of overnight funding charges on index and share positions. From 25 September 2021, IBORs will be replaced by an ARR and a spread adjustment, meaning you’ll be charged fees according to the IG admin fee +/- adjusted ARR benchmark.

Examples based in comparison of LIBOR and ARR

Number of contracts x value per contract x price x [2.5% admin fee +/- (ARR + spread adjustment)] ÷ 365 or 360 days

The formula uses a 365-day divisor for the FTSE® 100 and other GBP, SGD and ZAR denominated markets, and a 360-day divisor for all others.

Indices

Based on old LIBOR rate:
If you have 10 contracts on Singapore Blue Chip (SD 100) with a closing price at 300.
Assuming the SGD SIBOR rate is 0.25,

Overnight funding for long position: 10 x SGD 100 x 300 x (3% + 0.25%) ÷ 365 = 26.71 SGD
Overnight funding for short position: 10 x SGD 100 x 300 x (3% - 0.25%) ÷ 365 = 22.60 SGD

Based on new adjusted ARR rate:
If you have 10 contracts on Singapore Blue Chip (SD 100) with a closing price at 300.
Assuming SORA (for SGD denominated contract) rate is 0.21% and SGD spread adjustment is 0.03%.

Overnight funding for long position: 10 x SGD 100 x 300 x [3% + (0.21% + 0.03%)] ÷ 365 = 26.63 SGD
Overnight funding for short position: 10 x SGD 100 x 300 x [3% - (0.21% + 0.03%)] ÷ 365 = 22.68 SGD

*We are using SORA and 365-day divisor as underlying instrument is in SGD
*SGD SIBOR will transit to Alternative Reference Rate (ARR) which is SORA

Shares

Based on old LIBOR rate:
If you have 300 shares on Tesla Motors Inc with a closing price at 300, and the contract value is USD 1.
Assuming the USD LIBOR is 0.0835,

Overnight funding for long position = 300 x USD 1 x 300 x (3% + 0.0835%) ÷ 360 = 7.71 USD
Overnight funding for short position = = 300 x USD 1 x 300 x (3% - 0.0835%) ÷ 360 = 7.29 USD

Based on new adjusted ARR rate:
If you have 300 shares on Tesla Motors Inc with a closing price at 300 and the contract value is USD 1.
Assuming SOFR (for USD denominated contract) rate is 0.08% and USD spread adjustment is 0.002%,

Overnight funding for long position = 300 x USD 1 x 300 x [3% + (0.08% + 0.002%)] ÷ 360 = 7.71 USD
Overnight funding for short position = 300 x USD 1 x 300 x [3% - (0.08% + 0.002%)] ÷ 360 = 7.30 USD

*We are using SOFR and 360-day divisor since the underlying instrument is in USD
*USD LIBOR will transit to Alternative Reference Rate (ARR) which is SOFR

June 2023 Update

How will this affect our Interest rate markets?

Most of the rates that we offer will not be affected by the transition as they are already based on the alternative reference rates. The only exception would be Euribor, which is still being offered, and there are currently no plans to discontinue it.

There are certain rates that are tied to the IBORs which are phasing out in due time. One such example would be the USD LIBOR, which will cease on 30 June 2023. As such, the corresponding Eurodollar futures will also be delisted on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and have been replaced by SOFR futures instead. In general, if a market delists from the exchange, we will find a suitable new alternative and look to offer it where possible. Additionally, if there is a conversion between the two, we will also reflect that accordingly.
For instance, with the transition of Eurodollar futures to SOFR futures, the CME has stipulated that any Eurodollar futures with an expiry beyond 30 June 2023 will automatically be converted 1:1 to the corresponding SOFR futures, with a fixed spread of 26.161 (based on the ISDA spread adjustment methodology). For more information, please visit https://www.cmegroup.com/openmarkets/interest-rates/The-Shift-From-Eurodollar-to-SOFR-is-Accelerating.html.

In consequence, on IG, all clients who had open positions on Eurodollar futures with expiries beyond June 2023 were converted to SOFR futures with the stipulated fixed spread adjustment.

If there are similar situations in the future, we will endeavour to contact you via email if your open positions are impacted by any changes, and provide you with the information that has been released by the relevant exchange. However, if you require further clarification, you may reach out to us via phone or email for more information.