The London Interbank Offered Rate is found in hundreds of thousands of financial contracts with an estimated $200 trillion value. But by Jan. 1, 2022, LIBOR must be replaced with another benchmark rate. 

If recent COVID-19 events have some financial institutions waiting for an extension, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority recently stomped out those dreams when the regulator announced it wouldn’t adjust the deadline in light of the pandemic.