Andrew Hauser: From LIBOR to SONIA - a bridge to the future

Speech by Mr Andrew Hauser, Executive Director for Markets of the Bank of England, at the 'Is your business prepared for LIBOR?' webinar, 18 September 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Thank you Phil. It's great to be with you, and it's great to have such a fantastic line up to discuss this vital issue for every company in the UK.

We're here today to talk about what it will take to get your business ready to transition away from LIBOR.

But I want to start somewhere different. I want to start with a bridge: Hammersmith Bridge in London, to be precise. It's been around forever. People love it: it can carry over 20,000 vehicles a day. And to the naked eye, it seems in the prime of health: beautiful to look at, safe as houses? Well no, actually: it's completely unsafe. Below that shining metalwork, there are big and growing cracks - and sooner or later, if nothing is done, someone driving over it is going to fall headfirst into the Thames.