Dear Customer,
The Bank informs you that Regulation (EU) 2016/2011 (“Benchmark Regulation” or “BMR” or “Regulation”) has established a common framework to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts. The Regulation, which aims to protect consumers and investors and ensures that the Benchmarks which have been created and used in the European Union are robust, reliable, representative and appropriate. The Regulation is valid and enforced in all Member States of the European Union and the supervisory authority responsible for its implementation in Cyprus, is the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Benchmarks and reform
Benchmark means any index by reference to which the amount payable under a financial instrument or a financial contract or the value of a financial instrument is determined, or an index that is used to measure the performance of an investment fund with the purpose of tracking the return of such index or of defining the asset allocation of a portfolio or of computing the performance fees.
Benchmarks are calculated by a representative set of data or information for the purpose of the invoicing of the financial instruments or contracts and/or for capturing borrowing costs in various markets.
Given the economic importance of reference rates, it is crucial that their reliability is ensured by clear governance structures and transparent methodologies. For these very reasons, European benchmarks such as the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) and EURIBOR (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) are currently undergoing significant reform.
Compliance of the Bank with the Regulation
The Bank informs its customers that the above reform affects some of its products and services which are linked to specific Benchmarks. All necessary steps to ensure compliance with the above Regulation have been taken and the Bank will keep you informed, in so far as is possible, of all developments in this area.
Additional information on the EURIBOR and LIBOR rates can be found in the attached text.
Yours Faithfully,
Eurobank Cyprus Ltd
EURIBOR
EURIBOR is an unsecured market interest rate, administered and published daily by the European Money Markets Institute (EMMI), for transactions in Euro.
In order to comply with the BMR, EMMI proceeded with its reform by reformulating the EURIBOR definition and by changing the methodology used to provide the index. This was achieved by moving from a quote-based methodology to a hybrid methodology based on actual transactions to the extent possible, and on expert judgement, where actual transactions are not available.
As per EMMI, EURIBOR represents the rate at which wholesale funds in Euro can be obtained by credit institutions in the European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries in the unsecured money market.
Further details on the calculation methodology for EURIBOR, including the factors contributing to a change in the EURIBOR rate, can be found in the Blueprint for the Hybrid Methοdology for the Determination of EURIBOR and the Benchmark Determination Methodology for EURIBOR .
LIBOR
LIBOR is published daily by the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) and reflects the lending cost for banks in the unsecured money market for various currencies, such as the British pound, the US dollar, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen.
Regarding LIBOR’s reform, in April 2019 IBA confirmed that after a gradual transition designed to minimise operational and technological risk, all LIBOR Panel Banks (i.e. banks contributing to the calculation of LIBOR) successfully completed the transition to the so-called ‘Waterfall Methodology’.
Based on the new methodology, LIBOR represents a wholesale funding rate anchored in LIBOR panel banks’ unsecured wholesale transactions to the greatest extent possible, with a waterfall to enable a rate to be published in all market circumstances (in case actual transactions are not available, expert judgment is used).
As there is no guarantee that LIBOR will continue to be published after year-end 2021, the working groups are already working to identify alternative rates to transition to.
Further details on the calculation methodology for LIBOR, including the factors contributing to a change in the LIBOR rate, can be found on IBA’s website (ICE LIBOR Evolution) .
Read more:
Please refer to the links below for further information.
European Commission – Benchmark regulation
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R1011&from=FR
ECB: What are benchmark rates, why are they important and why are they being reformed?
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/explainers/tell-me-more/html/benchmark_rates_qa.en.html
Please note that the above is a non-exhaustive update on what is currently the position in relation to these two indices.