Bank of England: Minutes of the SONIA Stakeholder Advisory Group – 25 September 2026

The summary above is from the announcement Bank of England published on October 15, 2026.

What the announcement says

The Chair welcomed the Group and those present as part of the SSAG observers’ programme and the Bank’s Step Into My Shoes observer programme.

The Group discussed talent stream opportunities in place across firms, which provide engagement and support from school students through to early career employees. Firms continue to utilise recruitment strategies aimed at providing a diverse workforce and creating value by bringing perspectives, knowledge and experiences from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Retrospective review of market conditions

The unsecured overnight market remained stable, with daily volumes of around £55 billion and the spread to Bank rate fluctuating close to 1.9 basis points. Money-market funds had experienced collective inflows of approximately £15 billion since the start of the year and had increased allocation to the overnight tenor following changes in liquidity guidance and increased geopolitical tensions. This further supported activity in short-dated markets, while repo-market volatility and month-end spikes were lower than in the previous year.

Bank of England information gathering powers

The Bank of England and His Majesty’s Treasury are reviewing the statutory powers used to collect sterling money market information. This review seeks to ensure the Bank’s data collection powers are sufficient to maintain strong coverage and visibility of Sterling Money Market activity including as markets evolve, for example should there be changes in market structure, regulation, infrastructure or booking locations. The Bank may seek to collect data on material Sterling Money Market activity in group entities to preserve sufficient coverage for SONIA if necessary, in future.

Potential implications for SONIA of extending RTGS settlement hours

The Bank of England consulted over the summer on its longer-term ambition to move RTGS and CHAPS settlement towards a near 24-hour, seven-day mode ( Extending RTGS and CHAPS settlement hours CP ). The Bank is reviewing feedback and intends to return to industry in the first quarter of 2027 with themes emerging from consultation responses and next steps. The Group discussed how longer settlement hours could affect SONIA’s definition, publication time, reporting, and operational processes.

The Bank is continuing analysis on the impact of the proposed extended hours scenarios. Under one possible scenario, CHAPS settlement could close at 18:00, with the following day’s settlement starting at 20:00 – meaning between 20:00 and 00:00 there would be a discrepancy between the value date recorded in CHAPS, and calendar date. The Group discussed how market participants could eventually establish timestamp-based conventions. Firms may delay or accelerate booking decisions to manage interest calculations.

The Group also discussed potential impact of scenarios where CHAPS settlement closes later in the evening, considering SMMD reporting is required by 07:00 in order for the Bank to publish SONIA by 09:00. Participants noted that many reports are automated but the ability to resubmit or regenerate prior-day data were identified as particularly important. The Group indicated a strong preference to preserve the current SONIA publication time of 09:00. A later publication time could affect processing and fulfilment of products referencing SONIA.

The proposed Sunday and, potentially in future, full-weekend CHAPS opening raised questions about whether weekend activity would be structurally different to volumes and rates traded on weekdays, and whether SONIA should be published for weekends or incorporate weekend activity into weekday data.

The group discussed the Office for National Statistics consultation on release times for market-sensitive economic statistics. Release times had been moved to 07:00 during the Covid period, but the subsequent extension of trading hours for certain futures and gilt futures had changed the market context.

Bank of England

Policy decisions and official commentary move currency and index pricing, and they shape the cost of holding a leveraged position.

Read the full announcement on Bank of England

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