I believe that this is a critical component of the interest rate benchmark reform agenda. Structure of the group The Working Group we have initiated today is a private-sector group comprised of senior subject matter experts from major sterling swap dealers. Participation is at the invitation of the Bank of England, and we have convened this particular group because our experience of derivatives reform suggests that the swap dealer community can be most influential in catalysing a transition. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  It will of course be necessary to reach out to a wide range of stakeholders – but the commitment to change must originate from this group, and this group is best placed to promote adoption amongst the swap user community. In particular, we expect that you will reach out to CCPs, exchanges, benchmark administrators, and end users – including institutional investors and corporate treasures. The Bank is prepared to facilitate this outreach process by hosting roundtable meetings at the request of the Working Group. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association will participate in a non-voting capacity and provide guidance on contract robustness and reference rate transition. Representatives from the Bank of England and the FCA will participate as ex-officio members. The Bank will also provide a secretariat, host meetings, and publish the terms of reference of the Group, meeting agendas and minutes on our website. 1 Aims of the group and timeline The rest is up to you.
Chris Salmon: Remarks given at the first meeting of the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates Remarks by Mr Chris Salmon, Executive Director for Markets of the Bank of England, at the first meeting of the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates, London, 18 March 2015. *  *  *  Over the past two and a half years, the Bank of England has been firmly committed to benchmark reform. Much has already been achieved by regulators, administrators and market participants. Those achievements include the Wheatley Review of Libor, the development of IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks, the FSB’s recommendations on interest rate benchmark reform, and most recently the extension of the UK regulatory framework to cover additional critical benchmarks – including the interest rate benchmarks, SONIA and RONIA. But there is still much to do. The way ahead was signposted in the July 2014 Financial Stability Board Report, “Reforming Major Interest Rate Benchmarks”. That Report recommended a “multi-rate” approach involving the strengthening of existing “IBOR” rates (such as LIBOR) by using, to the greatest extent possible, transactions data; and developing alternative near risk-free reference rates (RFRs) for use in derivatives contracts.