who want to do business here. certainly, a growing financial sector needs to be supported and protected by appropriate legislative and supervisory frameworks to ensure that potential risks are minimized. malta has managed to host a relatively large financial sector without exposing itself to excessive risks. yet this has not been the case in other countries. we need to be on the lookout for potential threats to our system so as to reap the benefits of the financial sector without exposure to excessive risk. in the past year we have been under the spotlight and operators need to ensure that the appropriate regulations are carefully followed. malta should look optimistically to the future, not only because it has managed to ride the downturn quite well, but also because it has the ingredients for further growth and prosperity. a concerted and unified effort is essential to achieve our potential growth. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

speech the end of libor and the australian market christopher kent [ * ] assistant governor ( financial markets ) keynote address to isda benchmark strategies forum asia pacific online – 18 march 2021 introduction thank you for the opportunity to speak at this isda forum on the very important issue of the end of libor. after many years of planning for the end of libor, the deadline is now just 9½ months away. in that short time left, market participants need to take concrete steps to ensure they are ready for the end of libor. an orderly transition away from libor is important not only for your own firm, but for the smooth functioning of financial markets and the stability of the financial system. today, i want to focus on the steps firms need to take to be ready for the end of libor. ensuring that these steps are taken is a global regulatory priority. i will also give an update on progress in the australian market and what's required in the period ahead. as part of that i will make a few remarks about the multiple - rate approach we are taking for australia's local reference rates. the deadline for libor is fast approaching – what do you need to do to prepare for the end of libor, financial market participants need to take 2 key steps. 1. move to alternative robust reference rates the first step is for firms to move to robust reference rates for all new contracts. earlier this month, ice benchmark administration ( which administers and publishes libor ), confirmed that it will publish most libor rates for the last time on 31 december 2021. [ 1 ] on 1 january 2022, these rates will not be published – they will not exist. for the most widely used usd libor tenors, ice benchmark administration will continue publishing these rates until 30 june 2023, but not beyond that. this 18 - month extension is being made to allow most legacy usd libor contracts to mature before libor ends. but it is critical to stress that this extension applies to legacy contracts only. similarly, the uk's financial conduct authority is considering whether there is a need to further extend the publication of a limited number of libor settings in an amended form. but again, this would be to support legacy contracts only. importantly, this does not change the approach to new contracts referencing libor, which is the same across all currencies and tenors. the clear and universal expectation among regulators is that firms should not reference libor in