Lawrence Summers joins SOFR Academy as Special Advisor

Lawrence H. Summers has been appointed as a Special Advisor to SOFR Academy, bringing over four decades of experience in economics and finance. His previous roles include serving as the U.S. Treasury Secretary, President of Harvard University, and Chief Economist of the World Bank. Summers is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard, where he leads the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. SOFR Academy has developed new benchmark credit spreads, USD-AXI and USD-FXI, in response to the discontinuation of LIBOR. These credit spreads were created to help lenders manage asset-liability mismatches, thereby enhancing their capacity to provide credit to borrowers in the U.S. financial market. The indices were first introduced during discussions at the New York Fed's Credit Sensitivity Workshops and were developed by academics from prestigious institutions. An independent review by IBM Promontory confirmed that the new benchmarks comply with the International Organization of Securities Commissions' Principles for Financial Benchmarks. The indices are calculated daily using transaction data and are accessible through financial platforms like Bloomberg and LSEG Data & Analytics. Summers expressed enthusiasm about advising SOFR Academy, emphasizing the importance of these new benchmarks in improving the efficiency and stability of U.S. financial markets. His extensive background in academia, government, and the private sector positions him well to contribute to the firm’s mission of enhancing financial transparency and stability.