LIBOR Transition

Clients turn to Ropes & Gray’s cross-practice IBOR transition team for comprehensive guidance on IBOR transition preparation, including the wide-ranging impact of market and regulatory developments.

Overview

Ropes & Gray is well positioned to assist clients with all aspects of preparation for the end of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) as well as other key inter-bank offered rates (together, the IBORs) and the transition to risk-free rates. We offer a comprehensive approach across multiple practice groups, with members in the United States, Europe and Asia.  We seek to provide timely updates on market and regulatory developments and help clients evaluate and understand the impact of these developments on their business, investments, contracts, disclosure documents and more. 

Our IBOR transition team advises clients such as corporations, investment funds, institutional investors, private equity sponsors and other asset managers—in their capacities as borrowers, lenders, investors and issuers—across a wide range of industries, asset classes and geographies. Our capabilities and experience, further described under the “Experience” tab, include:

  • Assisting asset managers with all aspects of transition preparedness, including assessment of impacts across an adviser’s business and updates to disclosure documents, marketing materials, contracts and service provider arrangements.
  • Advising clients on the impact of the transition on derivatives transactions, including negotiation of amendments to trading agreements to incorporate fallback provisions and advice regarding ISDA’s IBOR Fallbacks Protocol.
  • Advising clients on the U.S. and U.K. tax consequences of amendments made to financing agreements to implement the transition.
  • Reviewing loan agreements and other debt instruments—as both borrower and lender counsel—and advising clients as to how those agreements should be amended to best prepare for the transition.
  • Advising clients on “tough legacy” contracts, as well as related litigation risks.
  • Advising sponsors (as borrowers under commercial real estate financings for their equity holdings) and commercial real estate lenders (as borrowers under warehouse and other secondary market financings for their debt holdings) on various aspects of the transition and its impact on commercial real estate.
  • Helping clients of all kinds to assess, plan for, and manage their litigation risk.
Experience