IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY

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IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY
IBOR transition:
Impact on Australian
insurers
April 2019
IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY
Contents
                       Introduction....................................................................................... 3
                       Why are the IBORs being phased out?................................................. 4
                       Current state of play........................................................................... 4
                       A word on BBSW................................................................................. 5
                       Key challenges for Australian insurers................................................. 7
                          1. Developing, issuing and trading new products................................. 7
                          2. Repapering legacy contracts.......................................................... 7
                          3. Managing financial risks................................................................ 8
                          4. Adjusting models and curves......................................................... 9
                          5. Enhancing systems and data infrastructure..................................... 9
                          6. Managing tax and accounting outcomes.......................................... 9
                       Next steps for Australian insurers....................................................... 10
                       Conclusion......................................................................................... 10
                       Our Australian IBOR team................................................................... 11

2   | IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers
IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY
Introduction
Ongoing efforts by global regulators and major banks to phase out the use of interbank offered rates (IBORs)
will have a significant impact on Australian insurers. The IBORs play a critical role in financial markets, acting
as reference rates for cash products and derivative contracts held by a wide array of market participants.
The IBORs are also extensively embedded throughout a range of processes, systems and models across
industries and market segments, including both general and life insurers.
After more than forty years in operation, the end of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) after 2021
will be particularly consequential. LIBOR is presently used to price around USD 370 trillion of financial
contracts daily across the globe. It also serves as a critical benchmark rate of performance measurement
for investment securities and as a proxy rate for wholesale funding. Many Australian insurers have exposure
to LIBOR-linked funding or capital instruments. For those with offshore liabilities, LIBOR may additionally
act as an input into discounting, valuation and regulatory cost of capital models. The runway to prepare for
transition is short.

                                                                                   IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers |   3
IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY
Why are the IBORs being phased out?
Several interrelated factors have led to a fundamental review of the IBORs’ robustness since the global financial crisis:
    1. Liquidity has significantly reduced within interbank unsecured funding markets, primarily driven by the
       introduction of liquidity standards requiring banks to maintain a stable funding structure more reliant upon
       longer-term funding.
    2. IBOR panel banks are increasingly reluctant to submit quotes based on expert judgement, rather than
       underlying transactions, due to concerns around litigation and allegations of misconduct.
    3. Criminal convictions and panel bank fines for misconduct relating to the manipulation of IBORs across
       various jurisdictions have further stoked concerns around systemic risks related to the maintenance of these
       key financial benchmarks.

Current state of play
Transition governance                                                engaged directly with large financial institutions to ensure
                                                                     that they are responding with urgency. As IBOR transition
For the abovementioned reasons, regulators and industry
                                                                     accelerates, banks and insurers should expect further enquiries
bodies globally have undertaken a series of initiatives to restore
                                                                     from other regulatory bodies in the jurisdictions in which they
confidence in major interest rate benchmarks. These initiatives
                                                                     operate.
have been led by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Official
Sector Steering Group (OSSG).
                                                                     ARR-linked product issuance and
Given unsuccessful initial attempts to reform the IBORs to
be more transaction based, industry efforts are now focused
                                                                     liquidity
on replacing IBORs with overnight nearly risk-free alternate         With the final determination of the ARRs by the central bank
reference rates (ARRs) that conform to the benchmark principles      working groups, various government, banking and corporate
put forward by the International Organisation of Securities          institutions have started to issue associated debt securities,
Commissions (IOSCO).                                                 especially linked to the US and UK ARRs (“SOFR” and “SONIA”
                                                                     respectively). While some of this activity has been designed
Central bank-coordinated working groups have consequently            to promote readiness to accommodate the new benchmarks
been established in all key IBOR jurisdictions to facilitate         (systems, processes and approvals), some issuers are proactively
an orderly transition. These working groups have identified          seeking first-mover-pricing and reputational advantages.
different ARRs for the major IBOR currencies, and are now
focused on seeking market consensus around term ARRs                 ARR-linked futures and swaps have also been launched in some
and new contractual “fallback” provisions to minimise                markets, again mainly referencing SOFR and SONIA. Liquidity
market disruption in the event of IBOR discontinuations. The         in these derivatives markets will be critical for market hedging
International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has also      purposes. It will also be key to convincing transition participants
played a critical role in this fallback consultation process for     that such derivatives can serve as a robust basis for forward-
derivative instruments.                                              looking term ARRs to be potentially set in due course. While
                                                                     working groups acknowledge the strong demand for term ARRs
                                                                     for cash markets, debate continues around the most appropriate
Regulatory involvement                                               rate set method (e.g., forward-looking vs. compounded
While ultimately viewed as a voluntary, industry-led initiative,     in arrears).
regulators globally have indicated that they view IBOR transition
to be a matter of critical systemic importance. As a result, the     Clearing houses have also announced their intention to replace
UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced in 2017             existing overnight index rates with ARRs for calculating
that it would no longer persuade or compel panel banks to            price alignment interest (PAI). CME Group (leading global
make LIBOR submissions after the end of 2021. Given panel            derivatives market place) has already adopted SOFR for PAI
banks’ concerns around litigation in relation to LIBOR quote         and discounting, with LCH (UK and European clearing house
submissions, it is widely accepted that LIBOR will not be reliably   organisation) expected to transition from the Federal Funds Rate
published beyond this date.                                          to SOFR for all USD-denominated swaps in the second half of
                                                                     2020. This development will be a key catalyst to the trading of
Considering the tight timeframe, regulatory authorities in the       ARR-linked swaps, especially where existing trades referencing
UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong have consequently           IBORs are also transitioned.

4   | IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers
IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY
A word on BBSW
The use of the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW) as a reference rate is widespread across
Australian insurance firms’ investment, funding and derivative product portfolios.
While Australian insurers should prioritise addressing the impacts of IBOR transition in
the first instance, the viability and use of BBSW must also be monitored.

Recent reforms by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Australian Securities
and Investments Commission (ASIC) have established a firm foundation for BBSW
to comply with the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks. Under the ASX’s new
waterfall rate set methodology, BBSW is now largely transaction based for the critical
3- and 6-month tenors. ASIC’s financial benchmark reforms, including its Financial
Benchmark Administration Rules and Financial Benchmark Compelled Rules, have
improved BBSW’s robustness and bolstered market confidence in this critical
credit benchmark.
However, despite these changes and the articulated support from the Reserve Bank of
Australia (RBA), we believe that certain market dynamics may challenge the systemic
importance of BBSW over coming years. Cash Rate-linked debt instruments are
expected to be issued by local market participants from 2019. Australian firms looking
to convert future ARR-linked exposures back to AUD may prefer to use cross-currency
interest rate swaps referencing the Cash Rate, to avoid the credit exposure associated
with using BBSW against a risk-free ARR. Illiquidity in certain BBSW tenors (particularly
the 1-month) may encourage users to reference other BBSW tenors or potentially
other benchmarks. All these factors may reduce demand for BBSW-linked cash and
derivative products over time.

The new methodology strengthens BBSW
by anchoring the benchmark to a greater
number of transactions. This should help
to ensure that BBSW remains robust.
Guy Debelle
RBA Deputy Governor
May 2018

                                                                      IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers |   5
IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers - April 2019 - EY
Figure 1: Current state overview of key IBORs and their ARRs
As illustrated below, substantial differences exist between working groups’ approaches and progress with respect to ARR
development and consultation on fallback provisions and term ARRs. Market participants face a significant challenge
in developing and executing transition programs based on incomplete information, contingent timelines and divergent
approaches on key variables (e.g., fallback trigger events for cash and derivative instruments).

        Jurisdiction
                                                                                   UK              US                                EU                      Switzerland                    Japan

        IBOR                                                                   GBP LIBOR      USD LIBOR          EURO LIBOR       EONIA        EURIBOR      CHF LIBOR         JPY LIBOR          JPY TIBOR,
                                                                                                                                                                                                  EUROYEN
                                                                                                                                                                                                   TIBOR
        Administrator                                                              IBA             IBA               IBA            EMMI         EMMI            IBA                IBA              JBATA
        Type                                                                      Term            Term              Term         Overnight       Term           Term                Term               Term
        Secured/
                                                                                Unsecured      Unsecured          Unsecured     Unsecured     Unsecured      Unsecured        Unsecured            Unsecured
        unsecured
        Submission vs.
                                                                               Submission      Submission        Submission       Hybrid      Submission     Submission       Submission           Submission
        Transaction
        To coexist with
        ARR
                                                                                             ARRC proposing
                                                                                                                                                                              Permanent       Permanent
                                                                                               pre-cessation
                                                                                                                                                                            discontinuation discontinuation
                                                              Trigger

                                                                                              triggers based
                                                                                   TBD                               TBD             N/A          TBD            TBD           of LIBOR        of LIBOR
                                                                                              on Benchmark
                                                                                                                                                                             announced by announced by
IBORs

                                        Cash products

                                                                                             Discontinuance
                                                                                                                                                                            the IBA or FCA the IBA or FCA
                                                                                                   Events
                                                                                             ARRC proposal
         Fallback consultation status

                                                              Product types

                                                                                               due Q2 2019
                                                                                             for FRNs, synd.
                                                                                   TBD                               TBD             N/A          TBD            TBD                TBD                 TBD
                                                                                              loans, bilateral
                                                                                                 loans and
                                                                                              securitisations
                                                                              Index cessation                                                               Index cessation Index cessation Index cessation
                                                                                 events as        TBD                TBD                          TBD          events as       events as       events as
                                                              Trigger

                                                                                 per ISDA     Consultation       Consultation        N/A     Consultation      per ISDA        per ISDA        per ISDA
                                        Derivatives (ISDA)

                                                                                Benchmarks    due 1H 2019        due 1H 2019                 due 1H 2019      Benchmarks      Benchmarks      Benchmarks
                                                                                Supplement                                                                    Supplement      Supplement      Supplement
                                                                               Compounded         TBD                TBD                         TBD         Compounded Compounded Compounded
                                                             Term

                                                                                 setting in   Consultation       Consultation     N/A        Consultation      setting in      setting in      setting in
                                                              adj.

                                                                                  arrears     due 1H 2019        due 1H 2019                 due 1H 2019        arrears         arrears         arrears
                                                                                                  TBD                TBD                         TBD
                                                                                 Historical                                                                   Historical      Historical         Historical
                                                             Credit
                                                              adj.

                                                                                              Consultation       Consultation     N/A        Consultation
                                                                               mean/median                                                                   mean/median     mean/median        mean/median
                                                                                              due 1H 2019        due 1H 2019                 due 1H 2019
                                                                                                                          ESTER               Reformed
        ARR                                                                      SONIA            SOFR                                                         SARON                        TONA
                                                                                                                    From October 2019          EURIBOR
        Administrator                                                              BoE           FRBNY              ECB, FSMA, ESMA              EMMI            SIX                         BoJ
        Type                                                                    Overnight       Overnight               Overnight                Term          Overnight                   Overnight
        Secured/
                                                                                Unsecured        Secured                Unsecured             Unsecured        Secured                     Unsecured
        unsecured
        Submission /
                                                                               Transaction     Transaction             Transaction              Hybrid        Transaction                 Transaction
ARRs

        Transaction
        Working group                                                            RFRWG            ARRC                           WGERFR                         NWG                         CJYIRB
                                                                                                                                                                             Considering both forward- and
                                                                                           Daily backwards- WG members                            N/A
                                                                                                               presently     N/A                              NWG plans         backward-looking rates
        Term rate                                                               Planning     compounded
                                                                                                              favour OIS-                      EURIBOR        a backward-
        consultation                                                          forward-term rate by 1H 2020                EONIA is an
                                                                                                                                              already has
                                                                                                                                                                               Proposing publication of
                                                                                                            quotes-based overnight                           compounded     “prototype rates” by Dec 2020,
        status                                                                    rate      Forward rate by                                    different
                                                                                                                forward-     rate                                 rate           and production rates
                                                                                               end-2021      looking rate                        tenors
                                                                                                                                                                                     by mid-2021

Benchmark administrators                                                                                                      Alternate reference rates (ARRs)
BoE     Bank of England                                                                                                       ESTER     Euro Short-Term Rate
BoJ     Bank of Japan                                                                                                         SARON Swiss average rate overnight
ECB     European Central Bank                                                                                                 SOFR      Secured overnight financing rate
EMMI    European Money Markets Institute                                                                                      SONIA     Reformed sterling overnight index average
FRBNY Federal Reserve Bank of New York                                                                                        TONA      Tokyo overnight average rate
IBA     ICE Benchmark Administration                                                                                          Working groups
JBATA   Japan Bankers Association TIBOR Administration                                                                        RFRWG Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates
RFRWG Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates                                                                     ARRC     Alternative Reference Rates Committee
SIX     SIX Swiss Exchange                                                                                                    WGERFR Working Group on Euro Risk-Free Rates
                                                                                                                              NWG      The National Working Group on Swiss franc Reference Rate
                                                                                                                              CJYIRB Cross-Industry Committee on Japanese Yen Interest Rate Benchmarks

6       | IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers
Key challenges for Australian insurers

The discontinuation of the IBORs will present Australian insurance firms with a range of material
challenges across business areas and functions including trading, operations, legal, underwriting,
actuarial, risk and finance.

1. Developing, issuing and trading new                         To avoid such scenarios, market participants, including
                                                                 Australian insurers, will need to renegotiate these longer-
     products                                                    dated legacy IBOR-linked contracts with their clients or
The ability to develop, approve, issue and price new             counterparties to either:
ARR-linked products will be critical in meeting client and         1. Change the contractual reference rate to an
investor demands over the coming years, as well as to                 ARR-linked benchmark
maintaining competitive market share. Crucially, continuing
to issue IBOR-linked products to clients or investors without      2. Amend the fallback language to clarify what should
adequate disclosure of the associated IBOR discontinuation            happen if the referenced IBOR ceases to be published.
risks may result in charges of misconduct, and ultimately,       The amendment of fallback language is seen to be the most
litigation.                                                      achievable of these options in the short term. However,
Insurers will additionally need to ensure they can issue         significant commercial and logistical challenges still exist in
and book funding instruments such as floating-rate notes         carrying out this task.
(FRNs), as well trade in ARR-linked derivatives,                 Commercial challenges
so they may adequately fund and risk manage their
                                                                 Commercially, some value transfer between contractual
operations respectively.
                                                                 counterparties is likely to occur, either at the time of the
2. Repapering legacy contracts                                   renegotiation itself or in a fallback trigger event. This is
                                                                 due to two structural features of the ARRs that distinguish
Remediation of the “back book” will likely be an area            them from the IBORs:
of significant disruption during IBOR transition. If left
unaddressed by end-2021, legacy investment, funding and            1. The ARRs are overnight rates, unlike the IBOR rates,
derivative instruments linked to IBOR reference rates will            which have daily fixings across different tenors.
have to rely on the fallback provisions within their contracts     2. The ARRs are nearly risk-free, and do not contain a
for valuation and fulfillment purposes. This is likely to lead        credit risk spread as embedded within the IBORs.
to several challenges, given:
                                                                 The combination of these factors entails that ARR levels
  1. Existing fallback mechanisms were only designed             will differ from the IBORs at any given time. While ISDA and
     for temporary benchmark publication disruptions.            various working groups are establishing methodologies to
     Should a reference rate be permanently discontinued,        appropriately account for these features (i.e., by including
     it is generally understood that initial fallback            additional term and credit spread adjustments in the
     provisions to “survey” panel banks for an alternative       fallbacks), some value transfer is still inevitable.
     rate would be unenforceable.
                                                                 Contractual counterparties may therefore be reluctant
     A highly probable outcome in such a circumstance is         to renegotiate their contracts even with new proposed
     that a floating-rate instrument will effectively convert    fallbacks, given the potential for negative revaluations
     to fixed, referencing the last-published IBOR mark          or contractual triggers coming into play, such as
     thereafter. This would have several unfavourable            requirements to pledge additional collateral. Where
     consequences, including the potential forced sale of        clients or counterparties believe that insurers have acted
     assets or liabilities.                                      inappropriately throughout the outreach or repapering
  2. Existing fallbacks are inconsistent between, and            process, they are also likely to litigate.
     often within, product types. This would lead to hedge
     dislocation, where cash products and their hedging
     derivative fallbacks differ.

                                                                                       IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers |   7
Logistical challenges                                             as Figure 1 illustrates, the Alternative Reference Rate
                                                                  Committee (ARRC) in the US is proposing pre-cessation
Repapering legacy legal contracts will also present
                                                                  fallback triggers for cash products, opposed to the
significant logistical challenges. Simply locating relevant
                                                                  standard cessation fallbacks put forward by ISDA for
contracts and determining any provisions to be amended
                                                                  derivatives. Different term rate calculation methodologies
will be difficult where documents have not been digitised.
                                                                  are also being proposed by different working groups, with
IBOR contractual references may be more general in nature
                                                                  some preferring forward-term fixings based off derivatives
too, such as embedded in inter-company financing terms,
                                                                  markets, and others leaning towards backwards-
leases or external outsourcing contracts.
                                                                  compounding calculations.
With respect to impacted financial instruments, repapering
                                                                  Insurers will have to risk manage these contingencies
derivative contracts is expected to be significantly more
                                                                  as well as enhance their models and systems to account
straightforward than for cash products. The existing ISDA
                                                                  for new market features such as cash flows calculated
framework has led to a high degree of standardisation
                                                                  on a compounded-in-arrears basis. Inconsistent fallback
across derivative contracts. ISDA additionally intends to
                                                                  rates between legacy cash products and their hedging
publish a protocol to streamline the fallback repapering
                                                                  derivatives will result in profit or loss should the fallbacks
process across multiple counterparties, though adherence
                                                                  be triggered. Inconsistent trigger events between
to this protocol will be voluntary and direct outreach
                                                                  hedging and hedged items (i.e., “cessation” versus “pre-
to some counterparties will likely still be required by
                                                                  cessation” triggers) will result in timing mismatches and
Australian insurers.
                                                                  expose counterparties to uncertain periods of fixed-rate
The lack of contract standardisation across cash-based            payments from triggered cash products. Renegotiating
products, however, will preclude a protocol-driven solution       the contractual reference rate at different times for
in most circumstances. This will make the contractual             hedging and hedged items will similarly introduce basis.
renegotiation process significantly more cumbersome,              These timing issues are likely to complicate duration
especially where there are multiple counterparties to the         management strategies for some insurance firms. This
same transaction. FRN contracts, for example, typically           may be particularly significant for insurers with Matching
require unanimous consent of noteholders to amend                 Adjustment Portfolios under EU Solvency II rules. The
contractual terms. The potential for contract frustration in      impacts on insurers’ cash feeder or liquidity funds will also
such scenarios is higher.                                         need to be assessed.

3. Managing financial risks                                       Cross-currency interest rate swap (CCIRS) dynamics will
                                                                  also need to be considered as a source of financial risk.
As IBOR transition unfolds, Australian insurers, like other       Australian insurers typically swap offshore IBOR-linked
market participants, will simultaneously hold both IBOR-          investments or funding exposures back to AUD via CCIRS
and ARR-linked positions on their balance sheets. Migrating       with LIBOR on one leg versus BBSW on the other. However,
the affected IBOR back book over to ARRs will take time           using an ARR-BBSW CCIRS in the future will introduce a
and introduce a host of new financial risks that need to be       credit spread differential between the risk-free and credit
managed.                                                          benchmark legs respectively. This differential will become
This will be particularly difficult given the various timelines   more pronounced during periods of market stress, where
and divergent approaches being adopted for certain                the risk-free ARR levels and credit-based benchmarks (such
currency ARRs and between product types. For example,             as BBSW) are likely to diverge.

8   | IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers
While this BBSW credit exposure may be managed to                These will each have downstream impacts that will need
some extent via basis swaps between BBSW and the RBA             to be revised, including cashflow projections, liability
Overnight Cash Rate (Cash Rate), the associated additional       discounting, data feed inputs and any new interest
transaction costs and potential capture under uncleared          rate risk models. Any operational cross-dependencies
margin and clearing rules may act as a disincentive to           (e.g., proprietary vs. vendor systems, links to asset
hedge these additional risks using such instruments.             managers) should also be appropriately incorporated in
Australian insurers may opt to mitigate this credit exposure     to implementation plans. Early outreach to critical third
in the future by moving away from BBSW-linked CCRIRS             parties should be prioritised to allow sufficient time to
and instead hedging such offshore ARR-linked exposures           specify and implement required platform enhancements.
using CCIRS linked to the RBA Overnight Cash Rate
(which is risk free). This development alone would require       6. Managing tax and accounting
significant changes to procedures and infrastructure.                outcomes
                                                                 Transitioning to ARRs will pose significant tax and
4. Adjusting models and curves
                                                                 accounting challenges. Amending cash or derivative
To appropriately price and risk manage new and                   contracts may entail tax being recognised immediately and
renegotiated positions, Australian insurers will have to         payments on realised gains brought forward.
enhance several internal models. Actuarial assumptions
                                                                 Broader market dynamics may encourage assets and
may have to be revised, as will asset valuation techniques,
                                                                 liabilities to be transitioned on different timelines,
yield curves, economic scenario generators (ESGs) and
                                                                 exacerbating existing discrepancies between regulatory
capital projection methodologies. Shifting to ARRs for
                                                                 and IFRS-reported balance sheets. Such divergence is likely
existing contracts will have an immediate impact on
                                                                 to impact life insurers particularly, given the longer-term
position valuations, both directly (via the interest rate
                                                                 nature of this business.
variable), and indirectly for instruments with embedded
optionality (which also depend on interest rate volatility       Hedge accounting will be disrupted, with up-front
as a price input). APRA regulatory capital models may            assessments of the economic relationship between
additionally need to be rebuilt, redocumented, revalidated       hedged items and their hedging instruments becoming
and reapproved by the regulator.                                 more challenging should significant structural basis exist.
                                                                 Critically, finance teams will need to determine whether
The impact on non-interest rate derivative risk models and
                                                                 changes in benchmark rates represent a substantial
business models that rely on interest rate ‘feeder’ models
                                                                 modification of the terms of hedged items. They will have
will also need to be assessed and potentially remediated.
                                                                 to determine whether a new ARR should be considered
Existing pricing mechanisms and curves will need to be
                                                                 a permitted ‘hedgeable risk’, and whether a change
maintained in parallel, at least during the transition period,
                                                                 in hedged risk should trigger a de-designation or re-
for firms to accommodate legacy IBOR-linked positions in a
                                                                 designation. Hedged items and their hedging derivatives
multi-rate environment.
                                                                 may need to be booked separately at fair value, resulting in
5. Enhancing systems and data                                   potential net income volatility.
    infrastructure                                               Finally, IBOR transition is occurring at a time of significant
                                                                 change within the insurance industry with accounting
Insurers with significant IBOR exposure will likely need to
                                                                 standard IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts becoming effective
implement changes to a wide range of proprietary and
                                                                 for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2022.
third-party platforms. Robust historical data sets for ARRs
                                                                 This may indirectly impact assets and liabilities if Australian
will need to be sourced and integrated into valuation,
                                                                 insurers use an IBOR-based discount rate.
booking, trading and risk management systems, as well
as collateral management and accounting platforms.

                                                                                       IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers |   9
Next steps for Australian insurers
The work conducted by the various working groups and ISDA will not be enough to enable transition to ARRs alone.
Australian insurers, like other market participants with IBOR exposures, must be proactive in addressing the challenges
ahead. We recommend that Australian insurers take the following steps during 2019 to best ensure readiness and
mitigate the significant risks associated with this fundamental market transformation.

                                      Identify and nominate a senior executive to be responsible for assessing, planning and coordinating all
     1    Transition
                                      IBOR transition activities across the enterprise

                                      Conduct a comprehensive IBOR impact assessment across products, legal contracts, risk exposures,
     2    Impact assessment
                                      models, business processes and infrastructure

     3    Coordination                Mobilise an IBOR transition program office to coordinate transition activities across the enterprise

     4    Innovation                  Prepare to offer new products and financial instruments linked to ARRs

     5    Exposure                    Develop an inventory of legal exposures and contracts that mature after 2021

     6    Governance                  Define an enterprise-wide governance framework for the IBOR transition program

                                      Define a knowledge and education strategy for all internal stakeholders to heighten awareness of
     7    Knowledge
                                      transition risks, challenges, and the firm’s transition plan

          External                    Define a communication strategy for all external stakeholders (counterparties, investors and regulatory
     8
          communication               agencies) on the potential impact of IBOR transition on the activities with the firm

                                      Communicate to the board the firm’s exposures to IBOR-linked products and financial instruments,
          Internal
     9                                legal contracts, technology infrastructure; changing risk profile; impact on financial resources and
          communication
                                      program governance

                                      Prepare for onsite supervisory examination that assesses the state of readiness to transition from
     10 Regulatory
                                      IBORs to ARRs

      Conclusion
      The impacts of IBOR transition will be felt                             and divergent approaches across working groups and
      internationally. Australian insurers, like other financial              product types. Given the complexity of transformation
      market participants, must act promptly to assess                        required, we recommend that Australian insurers
      the IBOR dependencies across their products, legal                      prioritise broad stakeholder engagement. Outreach to
      contracts, models and systems. New products must                        affected clients and counterparties will help refine new
      be designed and issued to maintain market share and                     product strategy and minimise risks of reputational
      minimise risks of litigation. New ARR-linked funding                    damage and contract frustration. Early engagement
      sources should be explored and appropriate hedging                      with regulators will help ensure that potential capital
      mechanisms embedded. Legacy IBOR-linked contracts                       impacts are well understood and that model changes are
      maturing beyond end-2021 must be renegotiated                           approved within an adequate timeframe. Liaison with
      with clients and counterparties. Systems and models                     vendors is similarly critical to specify required platform
      must be enhanced to price, book and risk manage new                     enhancements and shape product pipeline.
      ARR-linked exposures. The viability of BBSW must be
                                                                              Addressing these challenges will require resources and
      monitored simultaneously.
                                                                              expertise be drawn from across all lines of business and
      Assessing the impact of transition may itself be                        enterprise functions. Given the tight timeline and the
      a significant undertaking. Where material IBOR                          risks of inaction, we recommend that Australian insurers
      dependencies exist, designing a transition roadmap will                 mobilise swiftly to address the challenges ahead.
      be particularly challenging given contingent timelines

10    | IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers
Our Australian IBOR team
        Grant A Peters
        Oceania Insurance Leader
        +61 2 9248 4491
        grant.peters@au.ey.com

IBOR governance and program management
        Damien Jones                              Andrew Bangura
        Partner, Capital Markets Advisory         Senior Manager, Capital Markets Advisory
        +61 2 9248 5236                           +61 2 9276 9235
        damien.jones@au.ey.com                    andrew.bangura@au.ey.com

        Hayley Watson                             Antony Collins
        Partner, Financial Accounting Advisory    Manager, Capital Markets Advisory
        +61 3 8650 7544                           +61 2 9248 4862
        hayley.watson@au.ey.com                   antony.collins@au.ey.com

Risk
        Warrick Gard                              Brendan Counsell
        Partner, Actuarial Services               Partner, Actuarial Services
        +61 2 9248 4484                           +61 2 9276 9040
        warrick.gard@au.ey.com                    brendan.counsell@au.ey.com

        Steven Nagle                              Michael Seminatore
        Partner, Quantitative Risk                Senior Manager, Financial Services
        +61 2 9276 9010                           Risk Management
        steve.nagle@au.ey.com                     +61 2 9276 9295
                                                  michael.seminatore@au.ey.com

Legal
        Michelle Segaert                          Dorothy Mioduszewska
        Partner, Financial Services Law           Director, Financial Services Law
        +61 2 9248 4641                           +61 2 8295 6080
        michelle.segaert@au.ey.com                dorothy.mioduszewska@au.ey.com

Technology and data management
        Glenn Rogers                              Tim Brookes
        Partner, Financial Services IT Advisory   Senior Manager, Financial Services IT Advisory
        +61 3 8650 7670                           tim.brookes@au.ey.com
        glenn.rogers@au.ey.com

                                                            IBOR transition: Impact on Australian insurers |   11
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