New York enacts LIBOR replacement provisions

State Issues State Legislation LIBOR SOFR

On April 6, the New York Governor signed S297B into law, which addresses the permanent discontinuance of LIBOR for specified contracts, securities, and other instruments that are economically tied to LIBOR. Among other things, S297B stipulates that contracts using LIBOR as a benchmark that do not contain adequate interest rate fallback provisions (or contain a fallback provision “that result[s] in a benchmark replacement, other than a recommended benchmark replacement, that is based in any way on any LIBOR value”) will automatically convert to the “recommended benchmark replacement”—currently the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR)—when LIBOR is no longer available. As previously covered by InfoBytes, all sterling, euro, Swiss franc and Japanese yen settings, and one-week and two-month U.S. dollar settings will cease immediately after December 31, 2021, while all remaining U.S. dollar settings will cease immediately after June 30, 2023. Of note, S297B will not override LIBOR replacements that are mutually agreed upon by contracting parties, and provides a safe harbor from liability for parties that use a recommended benchmark replacement. Further, parties are also prohibited from discharging or refusing to perform contractual obligations or declaring a breach of contract as a result of the discontinuance of LIBOR or the use of a replacement.

Find continuing InfoBytes coverage on LIBOR here.