Washington, DC, December 8, 2021 – SIFMA released the following statement from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president and CEO, regarding passage of H.R. 4616, the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, by the U.S. House of Representatives:

“We commend the House’s bipartisan passage of the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). There are currently trillions of dollars of existing contracts and instruments that, as a practical matter, cannot be amended to utilize an alternative rate and Federal legislation is necessary to facilitate a smooth transition away from LIBOR to an alternative reference rate for these ‘tough legacy’ contracts. This legislation will benefit all market participants including LIBOR’s end users, who range from investors to companies to consumers.

“The legislation would provide four key benefits: (1) certainty of outcomes; (2) fairness and equality of outcomes; (3) avoidance of years of paralyzing litigation; and (4) preservation of liquidity and market resilience, and accordingly is supported not only by SIFMA, but also a range of other market participants, consumer groups, and regulators. We appreciate the House’s action today on this important legislation and look forward to working with the Senate on similar legislation.”

Earlier this week, SIFMA joined a joint trades letter urging passage of the bill, which can be found here: https://www.sifma.org/resources/submissions/joint-letter-to-house-on-libor-tough-legacy-contracts/

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SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate for legislation, regulation and business policy affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.