Refinitiv has announced client adoption and usage figures for the Refinitiv Term SONIA benchmark, a forward-looking, risk-free reference rate available in 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 12-month tenors denominated in sterling and designed to be an alternative to LIBOR.
Six months following the January 11, 2021 launch of Refinitiv Term SONIA benchmark there has been significant client adoption of the rate. Since the prototype launched in July 2020, the Refinitiv Term SONIA has been viewed by more than 600 clients. Refinitiv now see more than 220 users from 170 clients access the Refinitiv Term SONIA rate each week via its Eikon desktop and more than 110 clients access it per month using our real time data feeds.
There are now many committed banks that have signed order forms to use the Refinitiv Term SONIA rate and there is a strong pipeline of customers with whom discussions, to use the rate, are ongoing. Some customers have already started issuing financial contracts referencing Refinitiv Term SONIA.
Jacob Rank-Broadley, Head of LIBOR Transition, Benchmarks & Indices at Refinitiv said:
“We designed the Refinitiv Term SONIA benchmark around our clients’ needs and to the highest regulatory standards, and so are pleased to see solid market adoption across EMEA, APAC and the Americas, and used as a reference rate in financial contracts.”
Refinitiv Term SONIA rate leverages the firm’s extensive experience in administering high quality benchmarks. Since launch of the benchmark in January, only the primary data sources have been used in calculation of the rate. To ensure the benchmark is robust and can be published in almost all circumstances there is a waterfall methodology based upon activity in the interdealer and institutional SONIA OIS markets.
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) underpins hundreds of trillions of dollars of financial instruments and contracts, making it one of the most widely used benchmarks in the world. Following announcements by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the industry anticipates the cessation of LIBOR in the foreseeable future. The Refinitiv Term SONIA benchmark supports market participants including lenders and borrowers with their migration away from GBP LIBOR.