The main derivatives trade group is considering industrywide fixes for the disarray that the demise of Libor could bring to more than $350 trillion of markets.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association is looking at setting up standard contractual language that companies, banks, investors, and other parties can use to update their derivatives agreements that are based on Libor, according to Rick Sandilands, ISDA's senior counsel for Europe. These industrywide fixes, known as protocols, could potentially save thousands of parties from having to individually negotiate new terms one-on-one.

The discussions underscore the confusion in financial markets after a British regulator last month said that at the end of 2021 it will no longer force banks to help set Libor, a scandal-plagued benchmark rate. Libor has become so deeply entrenched in financial markets that even after it was rigged and manipulated, there's no consensus on what could effectively replace it.