To further support the market’s transition from JIBAR to ZARONIA, the LMA is pleased to have published three key documents: 

• Exposure draft day one ZARONIA facility agreement (with comments due by 30 January 2026)
• Recommended form SA rate switch agreement (unsecured)
• Recommended form SA rate switch agreement (secured)

An updated commentary on the interest rate provisions in these documents will be made available shortly. 

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced that the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR) will be permanently discontinued after its final publication on 31 December 2026. ZARONIA is the designated preferred successor rate. 

Market participants are urged to accelerate transition efforts, update contracts, reduce reliance on JIBAR and ensure operational readiness for ZARONIA. 

The LMA continues to support the market in the transition and will shortly be publishing a day one ZARONIA facility agreement. 

For full details, please read the SARB Announcement 

The LMA has been reviewing the implications of comments made in the English court decision in Macdonald Hotels v Bank of Scotland around the English law requirements for a deed to be clear on its face that it is a deed. The LMA welcomes the memorandum issued by the Financial Law Committee of the City of London Law Society (CLLS), which affirms the sufficiency of the LMA’s intercreditor documentation. The LMA does not intend to amend the testimonium provision in its intercreditor documentation.  

The LMA note can be accessed here and the CLLS memorandum can be accessed here.    

For further discussion, please feel free to contact Kam Hessling at Kam.hessling@lma.eu.com.    

We will review all responses and reply individually, if you choose to share your details.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy holiday period and all the best for 2026.

On 20 November 2025, we co-signed a joint statement setting out concerns from the perspective of investors on the European Commission's proposed reforms regarding the EU securitisation framework. The joint statement sets out the shared views of the LMA and six other trade associations (AFME, AIMA, EFAMA, IACPM, ICMA and MFA).  

While supportive of the underlying intents behind the ongoing review, the associations are concerned that certain measures currently under discussion risk discouraging investment in securitisations, thereby undermining the Commission’s stated objective of growing the market. We collectively call on co-legislators to make improvements that will enable demand for securitisation in Europe to grow in the context of a robust and resilient regulatory framework.

Institutional investors have become a valued source of additional capital and catalyst for innovation in the fund finance market. However, their participation as lenders impact how transactions are structured and documented.

In our latest insights paper, Shelley Morrison (Head of Fund Finance at Aberdeen) and Kam Hessling (Managing Director at the LMA) explore:

• The participation of institutional lenders in fund finance
• Practical structuring considerations, including operations, loan structure and funding timescales
• Investment entry points and diligence requirements
• The role of ratings
• Withholding tax and gross- up obligations
• Transferability provisions
• Future outlook

The LMA hosted its East African Loan Markets Conference on 11 November in Kenya. Senior industry leaders shared practical insights, and the event offered a strong platform to examine the latest developments shaping the regional loan markets.

Our Managing Director, Amelia Slocombe, has summarised the key discussion points in the conference report below. Please click here to download the report.

On 17 October 2025, we responded to the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee’s inquiry on the growth of private markets in the UK.

Our response outlines how private credit has become a vital source of long-term financing for the real economy, complementing and, in some cases, substituting traditional bank lending. It details the increasing interconnections between banks and private credit funds - such as co-investment in leveraged loans, fund finance, and synthetic risk transfer - and discusses the implications for financial stability and access to credit. We also emphasise the importance of maintaining an internationally competitive and proportionate regulatory regime, ensuring that the benefits of private credit growth are recognised while safeguarding the resilience of the UK’s financial sector.