WIRF- index chosen as target benchmark to replace WIBOR
Poland's Steering Committee of the National Working Group for the reference rate reform (KS NGR) has selected the WIRF- index as the target benchmark to replace WIBOR, KS NGR said in a statement. The final name of the index will be determined pending further work.
"The Steering Committee of the National Working Group (KS NGR), established in connection with the reform of benchmarks, at its meetings on November 21, 2024, and December 6, 2024, discussed and decided on the proposal of an index with the technical name WIRF- based on unsecured deposits of Credit Institutions and Financial Institutions, as a target interest rate benchmark to replace the WIBOR benchmark," KS NGR said in the statement.
"The administrator of WIRF- within the meaning of the BMR Regulation will be the company WSE Benchmark S.A., registered with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)," it added.
Thus, KS NGR reviewed and modified its earlier decision to select WIRON (originally WIRD) as the successor to WIBOR.
The Committee’s decision was consistent with the overwhelming views of market participants expressed in an additional round of public consultation.
KS NGR's next step will be to update the roadmap as part of its existing roadmap to replace the WIBOR benchmark with the WIRF- target benchmark, the final name of which will be selected in the course of further work.
The Committee also intends to review and update the NGR recommendations issued so far in the near future, in particular the standards for the application of the new target RFR (risk-free-rate) in new banking, leasing and factoring products and financial instruments, as well as the voluntary conversion standards for legacy portfolios of contracts and financial instruments where the WIBOR benchmark is used.
Ultimately, WIRF- is to become a key interest rate benchmark within the meaning of the BMR Regulation that can be used in financial contracts (e.g. loan agreements), financial instruments (e.g. debt securities or derivatives) and by investment funds (e.g. in setting management fees).
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