FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) to become effective from July 22

The Board of Financial Benchmarks India Private Limited (FBIL) on 22 June 2015 decided to adopt FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) from 22 July 2015.

FBIL overnight MIBOR is a new method to set the overnight interest rate benchmark that will be based on traded levels instead of contributions from market participants.

Key characteristics of FBIL overnight MIBOR

• The new overnight MIBOR will be administered by the FBIL Board which will replace National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Thomson Reuters in administering the overnight rate benchmark.
• The new benchmark rate will replace the current MIBOR benchmark interest rate administered by FIMMDA-NSE (Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India – National Stock Exchange).
• It will be based on trade-weighted call money transactions conducted on Clearing Corporation of India's (CCIL) trading platform between 9 am – 10 am.
• Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) will be the calculating agent for the new benchmark rate.
• It will be in contrast to the current MIBOR, which is compiled by polling market participants and is used to benchmark overnight pricing of call money rate in India.
• It reflects Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) response to the rigging controversy that affected the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) in 2014.

Background

In the wake of developments involving misconduct relating to financial benchmarks in international financial markets, the RBI set up the Committee on Financial Benchmarks headed by P Vijaya Bhaskar in June 2013. The Committee reviewed the process of computation and dissemination of major financial benchmarks in India and gave recommendations on the governance framework.

As part of the measures to initiate reforms in the area of benchmark setting, FBIL was jointly formed by FIMMDA, Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association of India (FEDAI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).

FBIL was incorporated in December 2014 and has commenced operations in February 2015. The Board of Directors of FBIL is headed by Usha Thorat, former Deputy Governor RBI, with CES Azariah, DG Patwardhan, Dr. NR Prabhala, DVSSV Prasad and Sangeet Shukla as the other directors.

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