Syndicated loans

The London interbank offered rate will likely be replaced by a new reference rate that critics say is better suited for the derivatives market than it is for commercial lending.

Bank of America is offloading some margin loans after losing $292 million on soured credit to the former chairman of Steinhoff International Holdings, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company, which recently shared a three-year plan to bring in more lower-cost deposits and commercial loans, seems ready to play offense a year after the ouster of its CEO.

Banking regulatory agencies Thursday announced that they would raise the aggregate loan commitment threshold for syndicated loans to be included in the Shared National Credit program from $20 million to $100 million.

A Fed committee studying Libor’s replacement has dwelled heavily on the potential impact to the derivatives market. Loans may become a bigger part of the conversation later this year, but the panel plans to leave a lot of the specifics up to lenders.

In their biannual Shared National Credits Program report, regulators said that banks' exposure to leveraged loans and the oil and gas sector remained a source of concern.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the directive following an interim examination.

Coordinators of a blockchain project backed by the financial industry say they have successfully demonstrated that the distributed ledger technology can be used to syndicate, trade and make payments on leveraged loans.

The OCC wants California First to implement “prudent concentration limits” on leveraged loans.