Libor: After more than 50 years, tainted benchmark is officially no more

Libor, the 54-year-old benchmark borrowing rate, has officially been phased out after an arduous process kickstarted by the rate-rigging scandal in the early 2010s.

The Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed on Tuesday that all 35 Libor settings had now permanently ceased.

The regulators said in a joint statement that the transition away from Libor, or the London Bank Offered Rate, had “made financial markets safer, more stable and fit for modern use”.

Libor referred to dozens of rates set each day by surveys of major banks. For decades, it was a globally accepted benchmark for the cost of borrowing between banks.

It once helped determine the value of some $400 trillion in financial contracts, including mortgages, corporate bonds and financial derivatives.

In 2012, Barclays became the first of many banks to be fined by regulators for manipulating the benchmark.

A series of scandals ultimately incurring some $10bn in total fines led regulators to start phasing out Libor in favour of so-called risk-free rates that are set using market data, instead of surveys.

On Monday, the settings for a bridge system called synthetic Libor, designed to facilitate financial firms’ switching, were published for the last time.

“The end of Libor is the epitome of a quiet regulatory success, of huge and complex risks unwound diligently over time, including during periods of unprecedented market turbulence,” Nikhil Rathi, the FCA’s chief executive, said on Tuesday.

“The transition away from Libor is one of the most significant events in markets in this generation.”

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, added: “The financial stability risks from Libor in the UK have been effectively mitigated and allowed for an orderly cessation. It has been a long road, but markets are now operating on more robust and resilient foundations.”