The Short Road From Libor's Death to ‘Armageddon’
Precious few market participants have grasped the urgency of replacing Libor. A sea of lawsuits may ensue.
Counting the cost of missing the Libor deadline.
Photographer: John Titchen/Three Lions/Getty Images
When law firm Linklaters decided to organize a seminar about the forthcoming demise of Libor last week, it planned to hold the event in its London auditorium, which seats about a hundred people. After more than 500 attendees signed up, it was forced to move to a larger venue.
Thursday’s packed attendance at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters strikes me as testament to how corporate treasurers, bankers, accountants and consultants are belatedly realizing the scale of the task finance faces in replacing what was dubbed – and still arguably is – the world’s most important interest rate. But the awakening may still have come too late to avoid a chaotic and expensive denouement to the benchmark.