The 5 most in-demand LIBOR roles in 2021
The LIBOR transition has been deemed one of the biggest changes to established processes that businesses operating in the financial services sector have seen and had to prepare for. LIBOR’s cessation will encourage and create a demand for a range of new skills to ensure a successful transition for all market players. As a result, there has been a significant increase in demand for LIBOR specific roles within the wider financial services industry.
Below we have listed the 5 most in-demand LIBOR roles in 2021.
- LIBOR Advisors and SMEs
A transition of this nature will be a Herculean task for many firms and the need for a LIBOR Advisor or SME has already begun to be a notably required skill. This induvial would need to have extensive LIBOR market knowledge in financial products and would be called in usually to engage with counterparties to negotiate individual contract amendments; provide advice, guidance and key insights to senior decision-makers within the business.
- Project Managers
Project managers must have a strong ability to manage the internal LIBOR project & set-up processes and team structure – including the configuration of any required automation. They will usually need subject matter expertise to “hit the ground running”. This role will require you to head-up internal teams to ensure that all aspects of the transition are being met from a logistical, client/stakeholder, internal risk, and regulatory point of view. Titles for these types of roles can vary from LIBOR Transitional Project Mangers to LIBOR Transitional Delivery Managers.
- Legal roles
With all the repapering and fall-back provision comes the legal element of the transition, which will be paramount. The most in-demand types of legal roles will be: Benchmark Reform Lawyers, Senior Legal Counsel, Paralegals, and Contract Negotiators. These roles will be centred around the Implementation of new benchmark rates into contracts (where appropriate). They might also help to structure a complex and sensitive cross-border transaction, preserve the firm’s reputation for integrity and protect the firm from sanctions with policies and procedures that meet regulatory requirements around the world. These roles will also strive to maintain cooperative relationships with governmental policymakers and the regulatory and self-regulatory agencies that govern the firm’s business. Most notably, these roles will involve you going through contracts in a review process that needs individual assessment to identify clauses that need amendment – and to pull out contracts where amendment might be difficult (due to lack of fallback clause/language).
- Communication Specialist IBOR/ LIBOR Communications Manager
Once the new fallbacks are determined the transition will require firms to set-up communication channels to update and discuss with their existing customers/stakeholders the various changes of their contracts that have been made, as well as to review any policy changes. Regulators will be checking to see that all customers and stakeholders are aware of any changes and have agreed to them. These types of roles may be called Communication Specialist IBOR/LIBOR or a LIBOR Communications Manager. Day-to-day individuals in these types of roles will look at the development and implementation of the LIBOR transition communication plan and will engage daily to clients and stakeholders the institution’s activities and any changes surrounding LIBOR. This individual will usually report directly to the Head of Enterprise Communications and the Transition Head. They will engage daily with stakeholders across the bank/institution to develop enterprise-wide internal and external communications protocols with regards to the institutions activities and perspectives on LIBOR, its replacement, and the implications of this process. This includes the development and oversight of the transition programs regulatory agenda, as well as the systematised approach to industry engagement and messaging.
- Business Analyst
Working with stakeholders across impacted businesses to help drive the delivery of LIBOR transition activities. The individual will work in partnership with the workstream lead, using their experience and insight to help engage senior leaders, maintain a focus on delivering outcomes & removing unnecessary obstacles. Ensuring that the relevant policies and standards are put in place.
- Actuary/ Accountant
These types of roles will be responsible for “building the calculator” or “doing the maths” that converts LIBOR to the new benchmark rate/SONIA. You will be deployed to develop a clients algorithms or to do individual calculations where the values are substantial. These roles could also be deployed to QA any automation software, or to oversee more junior staff performing calculations.
