Banks lobby RBI for new swaps market benchmark

A GROUP OF banks has asked the Reserve Bank of India to approve a new benchmark for overnight indexed swaps, according to people familiar with the matter.

- BHASKAR DUTTA

The banks want the swaps to reference the newly-proposed secured overnight rupee rate (SORR) instead of the prevailing Mumbai interbank outright rate (MIBOR), sources said, asking not to be named as discussions are private. The move is intended to improve price discovery in the interest-rate swap market, an opaque but important part of the financial system that helps banks and corporations manage their risks.