Some Companies Are Ready for Libor’s Demise, but Not All

Some Companies Are Ready for Libor’s Demise, but Not All

U.S. banks won’t be allowed to issue new debt tied to the benchmark in 2022, leaving some firms struggling to decide how to proceed

Wall Street’s shift away from the London interbank offered rate takes effect at the start of the new year. Some companies are more prepared for it than others.

Starting Jan. 1, U.S. banks won’t be allowed to issue new debt tied to Libor, the global benchmark underpinning trillions of dollars in financial contracts.

Financial authorities began to phase out Libor in 2017 after it was discovered that traders at large banks manipulated the rate by submitting false data.

Large U.S. financial institutions have been readying themselves for the transition for years. Many of them replaced Libor with alternative reference rates, notably…