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In July of 2017, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced in a speech that after 2021 the FCA would no longer use its power to compel panel banks to submit rate information used to determine the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Mr. Bailey encouraged the market to develop robust alternative reference rates to replace LIBOR.

LIBOR has long been the dominant rate for determining interest payments on adjustable-rate financial products and, although progress is being made, transition from LIBOR (and other interbank offered rates (IBORs)) remains a fundamental issue confronting financial markets. Understanding and planning for the impact on your business is key to a smooth transition. Baker McKenzie is pleased to provide expert guidance on this issue below. Please do get in touch if you’d like to learn more.

Author

Debra A. Dandeneau is chair of Baker McKenzie's Global Restructuring and Insolvency Group. Her practice focuses on business reorganizations and debtor and creditors’ rights. Debra has been ranked by The Best Lawyers in America 2011-2022 in the practice areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, and Litigation-Bankruptcy. She has also been recognized by Legal 500 US for Municipal Bankruptcy and Super Lawyers 2006-2021 for Bankruptcy. Super Lawyers also named Debra among the Top Women Attorneys for Bankruptcy Business in New York 2017. Debra regularly speaks on restructuring issues and is frequently quoted in the media. She has been featured on Debtwire Radio's podcast, The Inside Track.

Author

Matthew Dening is the Chair of the Firm's Global Derivatives Practice and a member of the Firm’s Structured Capital Markets Group in the London office. He focuses his practice primarily on cross-border structured finance transactions involving derivatives, repos and securities lending, as well as the regulation of financial products under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), MiFID II and the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR). Matthew has received acknowledgement from numerous legal industry guides. He has been ranked as a leading expert by Chambers & Partners since 2005, and is currently ranked Band 1 in Structured Finance & Derivatives in the most recent Global edition. They highlight that he "understands complex problems very well, and is able to think about business issues in conjunction with legal requirements," as well as being "incredibly responsive and client-friendly." He regularly acts for buy-side derivatives firms. The UK Legal 500 note him as "a true expert in this area of law, a pleasant person who can explain very difficult matters clearly." Matthew is a member of the Editorial Board of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Finance Law. He is a frequent speaker and guest panellist at conferences in both the derivative and structured product area, as well as law firm management. He was recently a guest panellist at Thomson Reuters Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law in 2019.

Author

Michael Foundethakis acted as the global chair of Baker McKenzie’s Banking & Finance Practice Group from May 2017 to July 2020. He currently heads Banking & Finance in Paris and continues to act as global head of Project and Trade & Export Finance for the firm. Mr. Foundethakis is highly recommended as a leading banking and finance lawyer by Chambers Global, Legal 500, JUVE and IFLR. Additionally, he was the exclusive winner of the ILO Client Choice Award 2011 in Banking for Germany and again winner of the same award in 2017 in Banking for France. A team led by Michael Foundethakis was awarded Banking, Finance & Restructuring Team of the Year at The African Legal Awards 2015.

Author

Gabriel Gómez Giglio practices mainly in banking and finance law in the Firm’s Buenos Aires office. He is a correspondent of the Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation and International Company and Commercial Law Review. He is the author of more than 20 articles and book chapters on topics related to his area of practice published in the UK, Germany and Argentina. Gabriel is a law professor at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and member of the Buenos Aires Bar Association.

Author

Emmanuel Hadjidakis is a principal in Baker McKenzie's Finance & Projects team in Singapore. He is currently chair of the Global Financial Institutions Group at Baker McKenzie. Emmanuel has worked in Singapore for over 15 years and has prior experience working in London and Sydney. IFLR1000 describes him as "top-tier, and absolutely up there with the best" and points out, "Lenders consider [him] a rising star in the Singapore market and rate him as one of its leading practitioners." Chambers describes him as "a first-rate banking, finance and restructuring lawyer" and "a strong legal mind with an ability to manage clients across both sides".

Author

Gavin Raftery is a partner of the Finance & Projects Group, and is currently the Co-Managing Partner of the Tokyo office. Gavin is also one of the heads of Baker McKenzie's Global Fintech Initiative. He has extensive experience practicing finance law in Australia, the UK and Japan. He is listed as a leading lawyer for Banking and Finance in Japan by Chambers, Legal500 and IFLR.

Author

Dr. Oliver Socher heads the Banking and Finance Practice in Germany. His practice covers banking and finance and distressed debt matters. Prior to joining the Firm in January 2006, he worked as an associate for a "Magic Circle" law firm in Frankfurt and London. He also worked as an associate for a Wall Street law firm in New York. Dr. Socher studied law at the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen, where he also earned his doctor’s degree in law, and at Fordham School of Law in New York. He was admitted to the German bar in 2001.