On Friday, August 16, The American Financial Exchange (AFX), headed by Dr. Richard Sandor, will launch the first futures on the Ameribor, an index designed to be a replacement for Libor, which had become badly tarnished by a manipulation scandal. The new futures contracts belong to AFX but will be traded on the Cboe Futures Exchange.

John Lothian News has prepared this special report, sponsored by RPM and Connamara, in order to educate and prepare the trading community for this historic launch and highlight the importance of an American benchmark.

This report brings together several pieces JLN has done around the Ameribor launch and Libor. We begin with a Q&A in which Jim Kharouf speaks with Dr. Sandor about the launch of the new contracts and the evolution of the interest rate benchmark space.

We also have a piece by Thom Thompson on the other alternative reference rates being introduced as Libor replacements, particularly as the bases for OTC swap contracts.

A special episode of our video series “The Spread” with Spencer Doar explores the history of Libor and the fallout from the manipulation scandal as well as what the future holds for interest rate benchmarks.

We also have John Lothian’s backgrounder on Sandor and how the Ameribor works, and what sets it apart from other STIR benchmarks, as well as a compilation of stories about AFX and Cboe and interest rate benchmarks from other news sources.

Read our special report HERE.