LIBOR Is Going .... Going .... December 19, 2021

A few years ago, it seemed CNBC talking heads were mentioning "LIBOR" every day. Then, all of sudden, nothing. I haven't heard anyone over at CNBC mention LIBOR in .... like, forever. Of course, I haven't watched much CNBC in the past few weeks. 

Over at "Data Links":

• LIBOR: the most important number in the world.   

And now, LIBOR is going away.

• Link: the wiki entry. 
• LIBOR news. 
• American Banker;
  
• The WSJ: companies could get extended accounting relief.
• financial authorities in 2017 moved to phase out Libor, which underpins trillions of dollars in corporate loans, derivatives and home mortgages, after a manipulation scandal. Companies are in varying stages of selecting a replacement rate and updating their systems to accommodate the switch.
• relief could extend through 2024
  
• Financial Times: finance industry in last-minute sprint to switch away form Libor.
• Reuters. "Y2K" walk into a $265 trillion sunset.
  

  Bankers and regulators will be at their screens on New Year's Eve to see if what was once dubbed the world's most important number slips quietly into the history books.

  The London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, is finally being switched off, ending its role pricing derivatives and loans ranging from mortgages and student loans to business funding and credit cards, which totalled $265 trillion globally as of the start of 2021.
  

  The rate is being scrapped a decade after banks were caught trying to rig it in what will be the biggest shake-up to markets since the introduction of the euro in 1999.

So, there you have it.

It is amazing: when I first heard the term LIBOR and looked it up, I said to myself, "Self, wow, if there's any vehicle perfectly for manipulation , it's LIBOR."  Little did I know.