London-based interdealer broker Icap will today launch a new measure of US interest rates in New York as an alternative to the industry-standard London interbank offered rate, whose accuracy in times of stress has come under increased scrutiny.

Icap is to launch a daily survey of one- and three-month unsecured bank funding costs known as the New York Funding Rate, or NYFR Fixings. The move represents a challenge to the Libor system, which forms the basis for interest payments on trillions of dollars in individual mortgages, corporate debt and derivative contracts.