A senior European politician is supporting calls from banks to extend the timeframe for the adoption of a new euro benchmark lending rate, Bloomberg News reported Oct. 18.

A new euro short-term rate, or Ester, is set to replace the euro overnight index average, or Eonia, which banks use to measure how much they charge for lending to each other. The changes come in the wake of a series of rate-rigging scandals.

Eonia's use will be restricted from 2020, but Ester will not come on stream until October 2019.

"A longer transitional period of two years for critical benchmarks is appropriate," said Caroline Nagtegaal, a lawmaker in the European Parliament.