"Replacement of Screen Rate Language" in Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) standard form loan facility agreements

The APLMA has now formally adopted the Loan Market Association (LMA)’s "Replacement of Screen Rate Language" into the body of the APLMA recommended template documents along with a number of consequential and related changes. This language was introduced to facilitate transition to a new benchmark from LIBOR following discrediting of the rate when it became clear that certain banks had been providing purported interest rate figures which did not truly reflect the rate at which they could borrow. The amended documents have just been posted to the APLMA website for APLMA members. The APLMA decided to adopt the "Replacement of Screen Rate Language" in its templates in March this year, in response to announcements made by various regulators (including the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve in the US and the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK) and working groups, indicating that LIBOR would “definitely” cease to exist by, at the latest, the end of 2021 and be replaced by risk free rates such as SONIA or SOFRA.