Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which took over administeringthe London interbank offered rate this year, is planning to excusethe smallest banks from paying new fees it started charging usersof the interest-rate benchmark, according to a person withknowledge of the matter.

The decision follows pushback from banking groups, one of whichsaid that some lenders might stop using Libor as a benchmark fortheir loans because they considered the licensing fee too high.More than $300 trillion of securities, loans and derivatives aretied to the measure.

“It's valuable that they appear to have recognized that ablanket fee was cost prohibitive for a lot of small institutions,”Denyette DePierro, a vice president and senior counsel at theAmerican Bankers Association, said yesterday in a telephoneinterview. “We've been having extensive conversations with themsince July, and the fact that we're expecting them to be responsiveis positive.”