The Canadian Alternative Reference Rate Working Group (CARR) was created to ensure Canada’s interest rate benchmark regime is robust, relevant and effective in the years ahead. Find more information about our background, market notices, meetings, and membership.
Background
Interest rate benchmarks are a cornerstone of the global financial system and are used by market participants across a wide range of financial products and contracts. In 2013, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) established the Official Sector Steering Group (OSSG) to advise the FSB on recommendations to strengthen existing interbank offered rate benchmarks. This global work is now at a key inflection point with the confirmation that LIBOR, a key global interest rate benchmark, will cease being published at end-2021 (and end-June 2023 for key USD LIBOR tenors). As LIBOR’s cessation nears, global liquidity is expected to shift to products referencing risk-free rates, even in countries like Canada where LIBOR is not a predominant rate.
To coordinate Canadian interest rate reform, Canada established the Canadian Alternative Reference Rate Working Group—sponsored by the Canadian Fixed-Income Forum.
CARR’s primary objectives will be to:
- support and encourage the adoption of, and transition to, the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA) as a key financial benchmark for Canadian derivatives and securities; and
- analyze the current status of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate (CDOR) and its efficacy as a benchmark, as well as make recommendations on the basis of that analysis.
CARR also oversees the CORRA Advisory Group.
Key documents
Access our key documents and other reference material including recommended conventions, fallbacks, webcasts, speeches, and overviews.
News
CARR publishes recommended conventions for Term CORRA swaps
CARR finalizes the allowed uses for Term CORRA
Meetings
CARR Meeting (February 26, 2024)
CARR Meeting (January 29, 2024)
CARR Meeting (December 11, 2023)
Membership
Co-chairs
Harri Vikstedt
Senior Director, Financial Markets
Bank of Canada
Karl Wildi
Managing Director and Vice-Chair, Global Markets
CIBC Capital Markets
Market representatives
Jason Chang
Alberta Investment Management Corporation
Derek Astley
TD Bank
Elaine Wright
Alcoa Corporation
Jean-Philippe Drolet
National Bank of Canada
Alexander Nicholson
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Edwin Wong
Ontario Financing Authority
Carol McDonald
Bank of Montreal
Audrey Gaspar
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Luke Francis
Brookfield
Andrew Bastien
PSP Investments
Louise Stevens
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Guillaume Pichard
Quebec Ministry of Finance
Karl Wildi
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Bruce Wagner
Rogers Communications
Brent Clode
Central1
Jim Byrd
Royal Bank of Canada
Yassir Berbiche
Desjardins
Anuj Dhawan
Scotiabank
Alan Turner
HSBC
Brett Pacific
Sun Life Financial
Observers
Ann Battle
ISDA
Robert Catani
Montréal Exchange
Philip Whitehurst
LCH
Louise Brinkmann
CanDeal
Joshua Chad
McMillan LLP