In retrospect, the decision by AFMA to step away from setting the all-important swap rate should be seen as a natural progression of the industry consultation that has been underway in recent years, led by the Council of Financial Regulators locally and the International Organization of Securities Commission globally. And, again in retrospect, this was always going to happen, as the financial crisis showed clearly that the old-fashioned way of letting a panel of banks set their own benchmark rates was too open to being gamed by big players. IOSCO's guidelines, set out as "Principles for Financial Benchmarks", issued in July 2013, tried to overcome this obvious temptation by moving from a submissions-based to a market data-based benchmark. However, Australia's markets proved too thinly traded at the critical times for information gathering for this system to be effective. Construction of new 'once-and-for-all' interbank rate benchmarks for Australia's local markets progressed further this year, with the CFR's "Evolution of the BBSW Methodology" released for consultation in February. Some of the options outlined do allow for banks to provide some data, as they have in the past - especially if non-publicly traded securities are to be part of the mix. So, if AFMA, the long-term custodian of the BBSW rate setting process, has decided that the administrative effort and the data smarts needed to implement and maintain IOSCO's is too big a task for it to take on, in addition to its other core business, who is likely to be up to such an important but unexciting task?  If overseas experience is any guide, scale is crucial to keep up with an increasingly connected global market - hinting at a player such as a national stock exchange, or a challenger of size. For instance, in the UK the LIBOR is now administered through ICE Benchmark Administration, a part of the Intercontinental Exchange, a network of regulated exchanges and clearing houses.  By implication, the ASX, which already has the scale in addition to having major clearing house Austraclear as part of its corporate structure, along with an ambition to expand into new areas of operation, would be a natural.