23/03/2021 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission launched on Tuesday 23 March a public consultation on the possible designation of a legal replacement rate for the Swiss franc LIBOR reference index (CHF LIBOR) in mortgage credit agreements. New rules have recently been adopted to empower the Commission to designate a replacement index for so-called “critically important” benchmarks and other benchmarks, including those from non-Member States, whose discontinuation could affect the stability of EU financial markets (see EUROPE 12649/32). As the CHF LIBOR benchmark will cease to be published in December 2021, the Commission is seeking views from market participants on whether a successor to CHF LIBOR is needed. Interested parties have until 18 May to submit their comments to: http://bit.ly/3rbASqM (MF)