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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
A Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) spokesperson confirmed that the HKMA had received a copy of the Report on the Review of Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR) submitted by the Treasury Markets Association (TMA) to the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) today (November 26).
In July 2012, in the light of increasing market attention to the fixing process of financial market benchmarks, following the developments in London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the HKAB initiated a review of HIBOR and commissioned the TMA to undertake a study.
The HKMA welcomes the work by the HKAB, with the help of the TMA, to review the existing HIBOR fixing regime and to recommend measures to enhance the governance and robustness of the regime.
The HKMA understands that the HKAB intends to consult the industry on the findings and recommendations of the TMA Review Report before presenting its recommendations to the HKMA by the end of this year. In the meantime, members of the public are welcomed to provide their views on the TMA Review Report to the HKMA.
Without pre-judging the outcome of the consultation exercises, the HKMA wishes to reiterate that the market expects to see refining measures that would help increase the transparency of the fixing process, promote discipline and strengthen internal control amongst reference banks in submitting reference rates, and enhance governance for the fixing regime.
The Report on the Review of Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate can be downloaded from the TMA website (www.tma.org.hk/PubFile/HIBOR%20Review%20Report%20-%20English.pdf).
Ends/Monday, November 26, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:53
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