Over 130 people attended a Commonwealth Secretariat webinar on recording and managing risk-free interest rates.
On Thursday, the Debt Management Unit (DMU) organised a training session on using the latest version of Commonwealth Meridian – a digital system that enables effective and proactive public debt management.
The webinar was attended by over 130 participants, mainly from the Debt Management Offices of member countries that use the software for managing their public debt portfolio.
Delivering the opening remarks, Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Senior Director of the Economic, Youth and Sustainable Development Directorate, called on countries to adhere to debt transparency principles in light of global public debt challenges.
Pamela McLaren, Director of the DMU, noted that the workshop had come at an opportune time as finance managers across the world look to transition away from the London Interbank Offer Rate of interest (LIBOR) to other risk-free rates (RFRs). She commended her team for their commitment to deliver Commonwealth Meridian version 2.0, which will help users seamlessly transition to new RFRs like SOFR, SONIA, EuroSTR and TONA.
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The main facilitator for the webinar was Vikas Pandey, Debt Systems Development Officer of the DMU.
Mr Vikas gave participants a general overview of current risk-free rates, its application in interest calculation and the changes in Commonwealth Meridian for handling these rates.
In closing, Mrs McLaren charged member countries who have not yet migrated to the Commonwealth Meridian system to do so, to enable them to take advantage of the full suite of improved functionalities.
Media contact
- Amy Coles Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
