Swaps Litigation: Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale v Islington LBC

Abstract

An interest rate swap is an agreement between two parties by which one party (‘the fixed rate payer’) agrees to pay the other (‘the floating rate payer’) interest on a notional principal sum at a fixed rate over a certain period. The floating rate payer agrees to pay the fixed rate payer interest on the same notional sum at a fluctuating rate determined by reference to a market rate such as the six‐month London Inter‐Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Often the fixed rate payer will make an upfront payment to the floating rate payer with the result that the rate of interest payable by the fixed rate payer is reduced.