(a) Authority. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) has issued this part (Regulation ZZ) under the authority of Public Law 117-103, division U (the “Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act”), codified at 12 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.

Terms Used In 12 CFR 253.1

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

(b) Purpose. The purposes of the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act are to establish a clear and uniform process, on a nationwide basis, for replacing the overnight and one-, three-, six-, and 12-month tenors of U.S. dollar LIBOR in existing contracts that do not provide for the use of a clearly defined or practicable replacement benchmark rate; to preclude litigation related to such existing contracts; to allow existing contracts that reference LIBOR but provide for the use of a clearly defined and practicable replacement rate to operate according to their terms; and to address LIBOR references in Federal law.148 This part implements the statute by defining terms used in the statute and identifying Board-selected benchmark replacements for LIBOR contracts.

148 The act does not affect the ability of parties to use any appropriate benchmark rate in new contracts.

(c) Scope. As described in § 253.3, the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act and this part apply by their terms to existing contracts governed by Federal law or the law of any state that reference the overnight and one-, three-, six-, and 12-month tenors of U.S. dollar LIBOR and do not have fallback provisions providing for the use of a clearly defined and practicable replacement benchmark rate following the LIBOR replacement date, unless the parties to that contract agree in writing that the contract is not subject to the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act. This part does not apply to or affect existing or prospective contracts that do not reference the overnight or one-, three-, six-, or 12-month tenors of U.S. dollar LIBOR, and except as provided in § 253.3(a)(1)(iii) and (c), generally does not apply to or affect LIBOR contracts that have fallback provisions providing for the use of a clearly defined and practicable replacement benchmark for LIBOR (either directly or through selection by a determining person), even if that rate differs from the otherwise applicable Board-selected benchmark replacement. Any determining person’s selection of the applicable Board-selected benchmark replacement pursuant to § 253.3(c) is subject to §§ 253.4, 253.5 (including any benchmark replacement conforming changes made by a calculating person), §§ 253.6, and 253.7.

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