Risk-free rates meaning

This Checklist This Checklist presents, in a tabular format, the matters to address when preparing a loan that references a compounded risk-free rate (RFR) such as the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate (SONIA), calculated in arrears. It explains the purpose of the key provisions, highlights issues to weigh up, and offers drafting pointers and practical guidance for practitioners. For further analysis, see Practice Note: Interest provisions in risk-free rate based loan agreements. The Checklist draws on provisions contained in the Multicurrency Term and Revolving Facilities Agreement incorporating backward-looking compound rates and forward looking term rates (lookback without observation shift) issued by the LMA (the LMA Compounded RFR Facilities Agreement). The LMA’s recommended form documentation, with accompanying user guides and commentary, is accessible to LMA members on its website. While the Checklist is prepared on the basis of LMA-style documentation, the guidance will also be relevant to bilateral transactions and agreements using other loan forms. Practice Note: Interest provisions in risk-free rate based loan agreements provides a fuller discussion and...

This Flowchart This Flowchart helps determine the appropriate rate of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for the transaction in question. Different SDLT rates may apply to purchases depending on the property type (residential, non-residential (commercial property), or mixed-use property). Use this Flowchart in conjunction with Practice Note: Rates of SDLT. This Flowchart proceeds on the basis that: the buyer is acquiring a single property and the purchase is not linked with any other transaction. For further detail on linked transactions, see Practice Note: SDLT chargeable consideration—Linked transactions no relief from SDLT applies to the transaction...

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Transferring property Property insolvency Property taxes Easements, rights and covenants Property in Scotland Leasing property LexTalk®Property: a Lexis®Nexis community Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA 2024), which gained Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and featured in last week’s highlights, has now been published. Sections 113 (controls on remedies for arrears of rent charges), 117 (recovery of legal costs etc through service charge), 118 (repeal of section 125 of the Building Safety Act 2022) and 119 (higher-risk and relevant buildings: insolvency notifications) take effect two months after Royal Assent (24 July 2024). The rest of LFRA 2024 will commence by regulations to be made by the new government after the election. See: LNB News 04/06/2024 14. ...

Mercer highlighted three central problems: inadequate retirement saving, modest performance from long-term pots, and limited participation by savers. It called on policymakers to widen auto-enrolment in pension schemes and to lift the statutory minimum contribution rates. According to Mercer — one of the four operating subsidiaries within the global professional services firm Marsh McLennan Companies Inc. — such reforms would raise future retirees’ living standards and strengthen the UK’s economic resilience. Phil Parkinson, the firm’s UK head of wealth, voiced unease about the system’s current path, stressing that many are putting aside too little to secure a comfortable later life. ‘We are inching towards a cliff edge for pensions and long-term saving, yet there remains a chance to tackle these issues,’ Parkinson noted in the years ahead...

In this issue: Repairing obligations and dilapidations Trespass and adverse possession Service charges Residential tenancies Disputes and remedies Rent and rates Easements and covenants Property disputes in Scotland Additional Property Disputes updates LexTalk® Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Repairing obligations and dilapidations Building Safety Act—remediation contribution orders—respondents’ appeal dismissed in Vista Tower (Grey GR Ltd Partnership v Edgewater (Stevenage)) In Grey GR Ltd Partnership v Edgewater (Stevenage) [2025] Lexis Citation 276, the Upper Tribunal (UT) rejected the respondents’ appeal against the First-tier Tribunal’s (FTT) grant of a remediation contribution order under section 124 of the Building Safety Act 2022, made against 75 respondents. Marcus Birch of BCLP reviews the decision. See News Analysis: Building Safety Act—remediation contribution orders—respondents’ appeal dismissed in Vista Tower. High Court held progressive failure of window seals constituted disrepair (Better...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Agricultural Minimum Wage rates are ordinarily reviewed each year by the Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales (the Panel). As the recruitment of a new Chair is still underway, the Panel has not been able to finalise an Agricultural Wages Order for 2026. Accordingly, from 1 April 2026 the rates set out in the Agricultural Wages (Wales) Order 2025, SI 2025/293, will continue to apply, except where superseded by changes to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW). This Practice Note will be updated to reflect any amendments introduced by the Agricultural Wages Order for 2026 once it is made. FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Relevant provisions (not yet in force) of the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022 will create a new scheme of apprenticeships in Wales, replacing the current regime under Chapter 1 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (ASCLA 2009), from a date yet to be determined. This Practice Note is a guide to the key elements of employment...

This Practice Note outlines the principles governing the calculation and use of the basic nil rate band (NRB) and the transferable NRB on death, and flags key practical points on the operation of those calculations. For broader guidance on the NRB, the transferable NRB and the residence NRB (RNRB) (also called the additional threshold), including how to claim these reliefs and the relevant time limits, see Practice Notes: IHT—nil rate band (NRB) and transferable NRB and IHT—residence nil rate band. Nil rate band The NRB removes a significant slice of a deceased person’s estate from inheritance tax (IHT), and in many cases eliminates any IHT liability altogether. The current NRB threshold is £325,000, which produces an IHT saving of £130,000. In the RNRB context, which applies to deaths on or after 6 April 2017, the NRB is sometimes described as the basic NRB. For historic threshold figures, see: HMRC: IHT thresholds and interest rates. In certain cases, the free estate on death may not secure the whole of...

ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained . This Practice Note serves as a launch point to help firms plan and carry out a London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) transition project. It sets out the FCA’s part in the LIBOR switch and how it is supporting firms’ preparations, then examines in greater depth the principal issues raised by UK regulators. This is followed by a checklist highlighting key LIBOR impact areas that firms must review and address, together with points to weigh when doing so. It should be treated as a foundation and read in the context of each firm’s operations and LIBOR exposures, and tailored and adjusted accordingly. Practice Note: LIBOR transition [Archived] offers a broader outline of the matters around LIBOR transition, plus explanations of commonly used terms. The LIBOR developments tracker summarises developments linked to moving from LIBOR to risk-free rates. It covers each LIBOR currency: Sterling US dollars Swiss Francs Japanese Yen Euros...