OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered announced on Thursday (Jul 7) the completion of its 30-year overnight indexed swap (OIS) derivatives transaction using the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) as the interest rate benchmark.

This is the second-longest transacted Sora OIS to date, after global clearing house LCH extended the previous central clearing for over-the-counter Sora derivatives from 21-years to 31-years in June this year.

Head of global treasury at OCBC Kenneth Lai said the completion of such longer term tenor Sora OIS trade was made possible from continued progress made to strengthen key market infrastructure since the first OIS derivatives transaction using Sora in 2019.

Daniel Koh, global head of treasury markets at Standard Chartered believes this not only signifies a positive development in the SOR-to-Sora transition, but also demonstrates “strong interest among market participants for Sora derivatives”.

According to data from the Association of Banks in Singapore, the outstanding stock of Sora derivatives exceeded the outstanding stock of SOR derivatives for the first time in January this year.

“The successful transaction of the 30-year derivatives that reference Sora is yet another milestone in Singapore’s SOR-to-Sora transition and paves the way for more longer-tenor trades in coming months,” said the banks in a joint statement.

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