Overview
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) was a global interest rate benchmark used to determine interest rates for various financial instruments. In Singapore, SOR and SIBOR were also widely used for various SGD denominated financial instruments.
LIBOR and SOR have been discontinued or are no longer representative across all currency and tenor settings. The industry has transitioned to the relevant overnight alternative reference rates (e.g. SOFR for USD LIBOR, SORA for SGD contracts), and the application of the relevant contractual fallback rates (e.g. Fallback Rate (SOR) for SGD contracts).
The Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) will be discontinued immediately after 31 December 2024, supporting the shift towards a SORA-centred SGD interest rate landscape. These developments will reduce market fragmentation, facilitate easier comparison of loan pricing, and support the deepening and efficiency of SORA markets.The industry-wide transition of SGD interest rate benchmarks is overseen by the Steering Committee for SOR & SIBOR Transition to SORA (SC-STS) , which comprises senior representatives from the industry and MAS.
Impact of Transition to Alternative Reference Rates (ARRs) on Financial Institutions (FIs) and Their Customers
The transition to ARRs impacts both FIs and its customers. FIs are no longer able to reference LIBOR and SOR for charging interest on loans or paying interest on deposits.
The National Working Groups have recommended the adoption of ARRs for their respective currencies. ARRs are overnight rates that are based on actual transactions in large underlying liquid markets.
| Currency | Alternative Reference Rates (ARRs) | National Working Group |
| SGD | Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) | Steering Committee for SOR & SIBOR Transition to SORA (SC-STS) |
| USD | Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) | Alternative Reference Rates Committee |
| GBP | Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) | Working Group on Sterling Risk-free Reference Rates |
| JPY | Tokyo Overnight Average Rate (TONA) | Cross-Industry Committee on Japanese Yen Interest Rate Benchmarks |
| EUR | Euro Short-Term Rate (€STR) | Working Group on Euro Risk-free Rates |
| CHF | Swiss Average Rate Overnight (SARON) | National Working Group on Swiss Franc Reference Rates |
SOR/LIBOR
Customers with floating rate products such as loans, investments and derivatives contracts that still reference the impacted benchmarks (SOR/LIBOR) have to transition their contracts to reference the corresponding ARRs as soon as possible.
SIBOR
For customers with products referencing SIBOR, the SC-STS published its final recommendations on 30 June 2023 on the approach to convert SIBOR loans to SORA, in particular the setting of adjustment spreads to account for the difference between SIBOR and Compounded SORA. In addition, measures on fee waivers and loan rule exemptions were put in place to support customers in the transition from SIBOR.
For further information on the SOR and SIBOR transition, guidance materials published by SC-STS can be found on the SC-STS publications page .
Supervisory Expectations
FIs were expected to comply with the transition timelines and adopt the principles on customer engagement. FIs implemented measures and allocated resources needed to achieve a smooth transition.
Read more about MAS' expectations of FIs.