==Nibor, Libor and Euribor – all IBORs, but
different==
This memo takes a closer look at what lays behind different benchmark interest rates. Particular emphasis is put on how the different practices for quotation can explain why Nibor’s risk premium has on average been higher than the premiums in USD Libor and Euribor. Key: Benchmark rates, risk premia, IBOR, FX swaps, money market. 1.Introduction “IBOR” means Inter Bank Offered Rate. These four letters are common for the term reference rates in many countries around the world. In Norway, the term reference rate is Nibor. In the euro area it is Euribor and in the US it is Libor. In general, IBORs can be decomposed into two factors: the expected average level of the short-term (overnight) rate and a risk premium. The expected average of the overnight rate is closely linked to the central bank’s key policy rate, and thus reflects expected monetary policy over the relevant horizon. The risk premium can potentially reflect several things. One element is the credit risk associated with the panel of banks quoting the rates. Another is the liquidity premium that expresses the scarcity or abundance of money market credit in that particular currency over that particular horizon.
Watch the WATER fall
Since 1998, Libor has been defined by the panel banks’ daily answer to the following question: “At what rate could you borrow funds, were you to do so by asking for and then accepting interbank offers in a reasonable market size just prior to 11 am?” This question is posed in a way that defines Libor as an interbank offered rate. However, recognizing the fact that interbank term transactions are rare, the administrator of Libor, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA), has laid out a roadmap for the transition of Libor to a new “waterfall methodology”. This methodology entails a new output statement for Libor: “A wholesale funding rate anchored in LIBOR panel banks’ unsecured transactions to the greatest extent possible, with a waterfall to enable a rate to be published in all market circumstances”. The term “waterfall” refers to the ordering of inputs for the submissions into three levels. To the extent available, panel banks should base their submissions on Level 1 input, which are “eligible wholesale, unsecured funding transactions”. If no such eligible transactions were made, submissions should be transaction-derived (Level 2). That means utilizing time-weighted historical eligible transactions adjusted for market movements, and linear interpolation. If neither Level 1 nor Level 2 inputs are available, panel banks should base their submissions on expert judgement (Level 3). One important feature of the new methodology is that the eligible transactions are no longer limited to interbank loans. The eligible transactions are rates paid by banks on unsecured term deposits, as well as fixed rates paid on primary issuances of commercial paper (CP) and certificates of deposits (CD). The major part of CP and CD funding comes from investors outside the banking system, like money market funds and non-financial corporations.
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