Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators' Liability) Act 2021

Overview of the Act

Reproduced verbatim from the Explanatory Notes published with the Act on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Explanatory Notes are prepared by the responsible government department and are not part of the Act.

The Critical Benchmarks (References and Administrators’ Liability) Act 2021 (c. 33) supports the orderly wind-down of critical benchmarks, protecting both users of these benchmarks and the integrity of the UK’s financial markets.

The Act supports the effective operation of the powers granted to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Financial Services Act 2021 to oversee the wind-down of a critical benchmark. In particular, this Act provides legal certainty as to how contractual references to a critical benchmark should be treated where the FCA exercises powers under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) to provide for the continuity of an unrepresentative critical benchmark.

The Act also grants an immunity to the administrator of a critical benchmark that is designated under Article 23A of the BMR where the administrator acts in accordance with specific requirements imposed upon it by the FCA.