South Africa pushes Jibar cessation back to May 2027

The South African Reserve Bank has moved the final publication of Jibar, the Johannesburg interbank benchmark, from 31 December 2026 to 31 May 2027, a five month extension granted because the legislation needed to move tough legacy contracts may not be in place in time.

Why it matters: Jibar still underpins a large stock of rand loans, bonds and derivatives, and a cessation date that slips on legislative timing leaves contract transition planning, and pricing of the ZARONIA successor curve, working to a moving deadline.

Data as of South African Reserve Bank media release of 3 November 2026, read in full in this run; the revised cessation date, the reason for the extension and the Term ZARONIA arrangements are the bank's own. Developing item.

The South African Reserve Bank said Jibar, the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate, will now cease after 31 May 2027, five months later than the 31 December 2026 date it set in December 2025, with all tenors ending on the new date. The bank said market participants need the legislative solution for tough legacy contracts, the agreements hardest to amend onto a replacement rate, in place well before cessation, and it is uncertain whether the legislative process and the steps to operationalise that solution will finish before the end of 2026.

The extension does not change the direction of the reform, the bank said: participants are still expected to cut their reliance on Jibar and increase use of ZARONIA, the overnight index average designated as the preferred successor in 2022. The bank also said Term ZARONIA, the forward looking term rate administered by FTSE Russell, will be used to determine Synthetic Jibar, one of the designated replacement benchmarks for tough legacy contracts.

South Africa pushes Jibar cessation back to May 2027

Sources