The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) is an interest rate average calculated from estimates submitted by the leading banks in London. Each bank estimates what it would be charged were it to borrow from other banks. It is the primary benchmark, along with the Euribor, for short-term interest rates around the world. Libor was phased out at the end of 2021, and market participants are being encouraged to transition to risk-free interest rates.
A reference rate is a rate that determines pay-offs in a financial contract and that is outside the control of the parties to the contract. It is often some form of LIBOR rate, but it can take many forms, such as a consumer price index, a house price index or an unemployment rate. Parties to the contract choose a reference rate that neither party has power to manipulate.
The money market is a component of the economy that provides short-term funds. The money market deals in short-term loans, generally for a period of a year or less.
A variable-rate mortgage, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), or tracker mortgage is a mortgage loan with the interest rate on the note periodically adjusted based on an index which reflects the cost to the lender of borrowing on the credit markets. The loan may be offered at the lender's standard variable rate/base rate. There may be a direct and legally defined link to the underlying index, but where the lender offers no specific link to the underlying market or index, the rate can be changed at the lender's discretion. The term "variable-rate mortgage" is most common outside the United States, whilst in the United States, "adjustable-rate mortgage" is most common, and implies a mortgage regulated by the Federal government, with caps on charges. In many countries, adjustable rate mortgages are the norm, and in such places, may simply be referred to as mortgages.
The Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) is a daily reference rate, published by the European Money Markets Institute, based on the averaged interest rates at which Eurozone banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the euro wholesale money market. Prior to 2015, the rate was published by the European Banking Federation.
A prime rate or prime lending rate is an interest rate used by banks, usually the interest rate at which banks lend to customers with good credit. Some variable interest rates may be expressed as a percentage above or below prime rate.
This article gives descriptions of mortgage terminology in the United Kingdom.
TIBOR stands for the Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate and is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the Japan wholesale money market. TIBOR is published daily by the JBA TIBOR Administration.
The TED spread is the difference between the interest rates on interbank loans and on short-term U.S. government debt ("T-bills"). TED is an acronym formed from T-Bill and ED, the ticker symbol for the Eurodollar futures contract.
The overnight rate is generally the interest rate that large banks use to borrow and lend from one another in the overnight market. In some countries, the overnight rate may be the rate targeted by the central bank to influence monetary policy. In most countries, the central bank is also a participant on the overnight lending market, and will lend or borrow money to some group of banks.
A floating interest rate, also known as a variable or adjustable rate, refers to any type of debt instrument, such as a loan, bond, mortgage, or credit, that does not have a fixed rate of interest over the life of the instrument.
The interbank lending market is a market in which banks lend funds to one another for a specified term. Most interbank loans are for maturities of one week or less, the majority being overnight. Such loans are made at the interbank rate. A sharp decline in transaction volume in this market was a major contributing factor to the collapse of several financial institutions during the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
Helibor was a reference rate that was used in 1987–1998 on the Finnish interbank market. It was calculated each day as an average of the interest rates at which the banks offered to lend unsecured, Finnish markka nominated funds to each other.
The mortgage industry of the United States is a major financial sector. The federal government created several programs, or government sponsored entities, to foster mortgage lending, construction and encourage home ownership. These programs include the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
Singapore Dollar Swap Offer Rate (SOR) is an implied interest rate, determined by examining the spot and forward foreign exchange rate between the US dollar (USD) and Singapore dollar (SGD) and the appropriate US dollar interest rate for the term of the forward. It reflects the cost of borrowing SGD synthetically by borrowing USD and subsequently "swapping" to SGD by using an FX Swap. It is an alternative to Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) which is a measure of the interbank money market rates.
The Prague Inter Bank Offered Rate (PRIBOR) is the average rate at which banks are willing to lend liquidity on the Czech interbank money market and as such, reflects the price of money on the market.
The Saudi Arabian Interbank Offered Rate (SAIBOR) is a daily reference rate, published by the Saudi Central Bank, based on the averaged interest rates at which Saudi banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the Saudi Riyal wholesale money market.
The Karachi Interbank Offered Rate, commonly known as KIBOR, is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the Karachi wholesale money market. The banks used it as a benchmark in their lending to corporate sector.
Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) is a secured interbank overnight interest rate. SOFR is a reference rate established as an alternative to LIBOR. LIBOR has been published in a number of currencies and underpins financial contracts all over the world. Because LIBOR is derived from banks' daily quotes of borrowing costs, banks were able to manipulate the rates through lying in the surveys. Deeming it prone to manipulation, UK regulators decided to discontinue LIBOR in 2021.
