The Steering Committee of the National Working Group (NWG), appointed in connection with the planned reform of benchmarks, at its meetings on 25 August 2022 and 1 September 2022 held a discussion and made the decision on the selection of the WIRD® index as an alternative interest rate benchmark, with input data being information representing overnight (ON) transactions. The administrator of WIRD® as defined in the Benchmark Regulation (BMR) is GPW Benchmark, registered at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

The selection of the index and the parameters for the benchmark methodology was preceded by a public consultation with financial and non-financial market participants. The Steering Committee chose the index from a selection of three proposals: WIRD®, WIRF® and WRR®, relying on the assessment of the quantitative and qualitative features of each index, such as:

• the information resource relating to the number and values of transactions;
• the risk that the benchmark cannot be determined on particular days;

• publication of the benchmark on a date that responds to the needs of the financial market.

When indicating the WIRD® index, the members of the Steering Committee of the NWG pointed out that the index also considered data from the large non-financial counterparties (NFC), so the volume of deposit transactions – and thus the information resource – in the case of that index is larger, and not limited to the financial sector institutions.

• The description of each index can be found on the GPW Benchmark website: https://gpwbenchmark.pl/indices-details.
• A detailed list of the criteria for assessment of interest rate benchmarks applied by the Steering Committee can be found in the appendix.

The next step of the Steering Committee will be the adoption of a Roadmap defining the schedule of activities aimed at replacing WIBOR® with WIRD®. 

The Steering Committee is also planning to recommend standards for the application of the new risk-free rate in banking, lease and factoring products and financial instruments.

WIRD® is ultimately to become the key interest rate benchmark as defined in the BMR which is applied in financial contracts (e.g. credit agreements), financial instruments (e.g. debt securities or derivatives) and by investment funds (e.g. to determine the asset management fees). 

The activities of the National Working Group coordinated by the Steering Committee aim to ensure the credibility, transparency and reliability of the process of determining and applying the new interest rate benchmark.

The following members took part in the vote of the Steering Committee on the selection of the index:

• Brunon Bartkiewicz – President of the Management Board of ING Bank Śląski – Chair of the Steering Committee of the NWG 
• Paweł Borys – President of the Management Board of the Polish Development Fund – Deputy Chair of the Steering Committee of the NWG
• Paweł Szałamacha – Member of the Management Board of the National Bank of Poland – Member of the Steering Committee of the NWG 
• Piotr Patkowski – Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Finance – Member of the Steering Committee of the NWG
• Marcin Mikołajczyk – Deputy Chair of the KNF Board – Member of the Steering Committee of the NWG 
• Grzegorz Owczarek – Director of the Resolution Planning Department, Bank Guarantee Fund – Member of the Steering Committee of the NWG

As agreed by the Steering Committee of the NWG, due to the role of representing the administrator and preparing the list of benchmark selection criteria,

• Aleksandra Bluj – Vice-President of the Management Board of GPW Benchmark – Deputy Chair of the Steering Committee of the NWG – did not take part in the vote.