Financial institutions use the prime rate as the interest rate they charge their best customers, and they use SOFR to set interest rates for some business and consumer loans. In order for traders and lenders to be more precise about interest rates, they often talk in terms of basis points rather than percentages. If the Fed increased interest rates from 4.75% to 5.25%, you could say that interest rates rose 50 basis points.

BPS to Percentage Conversion Table

A bond whose yield increases from 5% to 5.5% is said to increase by 50 basis points. Interest rates that have risen by 1% are said to have increased by 100 basis points. The word basis in the term basis point comes from the base move between two percentages, or the spread between two interest rates. Since the changes recorded are usually narrow, and because small changes can have outsized outcomes, the basis is a fraction of a percent. Since one basis point is always equal to 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01%, basis points can eliminate the ambiguity demonstrated by the example above and create a universal measurement that can be applied to the yields of any bond. The increase from 10% is either 50 basis points (which is 10.5%) or 500 basis points (which is 15%).

You’ll also see or hear basis points cited when people are talking about things like savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts. Basis points are often used to describe a change in value with regard to these instruments. But whereas a rise in basis points is bad for borrowers, it’s good for savers.

Understanding Basis Points (BPS)

Within the finance industry, it is the norm to discuss interest rates in terms of basis points rather than percentages, especially regarding smaller figures. Using bps can be more convenient and reduce the chance of misinterpretations, as the expression is an absolute figure and is thus easier to understand than a small percentage. It helps avoid confusion when dealing with small mortgage payment relief during covid numbers, such as when calculating percentage changes in yields, spreads, or interest rates. You’ll often find them in news coverage or conversations around financial topics, such as changes in interest rates, and political polls and in scientific data. In July, the federal reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, meaning it raised the rate by 0.25 of a percentage point.

Price Value of a Basis Point (PVBP)

Changes in credit spreads, therefore, measured in basis points, impact bond prices inversely. When credit spreads widen and there’s an increase in basis points, bond prices generally fall because investors demand higher yields to compensate for the increased risk. A basis point is 1/100th of 1% and is commonly used to indicate interest rates or changes in rates in bonds and other financial instruments.

The term “basis point” has its origins in trading the “basis” or the spread between two interest rates. Since the basis is usually small, these are quoted multiplied up by 10,000, and hence a “full point” movement in the “basis” is a basis point. To convert basis points into percentages, divide the basis point figure by 100. So, if you’re talking about 250 basis points, you can divide 250 by 100 to get 2.50 percent.

They also are frequently used in the context of credit card rates, Treasury bonds and many other corners of the world of finance. Beyond markets, they’re very often used to describe percentage amounts even for non-financial purposes. Basis points are a unit of measure used in finance to express percentage change. If, for example, the Fed hiked interest rates from 4% to 4.5%, you could say borrowing rates rose 0.5 percentage points or 50 basis points. By expressing the percentage in the form of basis points, the incremental changes, such as the spread on bond yields, are easier to discuss, and the probability of misinterpretation is reduced.

1. Basis points can also generally be used as part of risk management techniques.
2. Using basis points rather than percentages allows for more precise communication about the difference between two interest rates.
3. Thus, your earnings grew by 1,937.50 ($15.50 x 125 BPS), and your investment is now worth 21,937.50 ($20,000+ $1,937.50).
4. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products.
5. As with the prime rate, SOFR can make a difference in how much you pay in interest for certain lending products.
6. Financial institutions use the prime rate as the interest rate they charge their best customers, and they use SOFR to set interest rates for some business and consumer loans.

For example, if the credit spread of a company’s bond widens from 100 basis points to 150 basis points, it suggests that investors perceive an increase in the company’s credit risk. This change in perception can be due to various factors including the deteriorating financial health of the issuer or unfavorable market conditions. Basis points, otherwise known as bps or bips, are a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value of financial instruments or the rate change in an index or other benchmark. It is common practice in the financial industry to use basis points to denote a rate change in a financial instrument, or the difference (spread) between two interest rates, including the yields of fixed-income securities. Raising the federal funds rate is the Fed’s primary tool to combat inflation because it raises interest rates on lending products, including mortgages and auto loans, for consumers.

BPS and PVBP are just two of the ways in which you can evaluate different investment options. You may consult a qualified financial advisor to guide you in making more informed investment decisions. Basis points can also be used to measure the performance of an investment relative to a benchmark.

Describing interest rates, spreads, and yields in terms of basis points tends to be more precise, as the implications of such minor changes can often be significant on the economy or instrument in question. Oftentimes, traders will use basis points to refer to the change in value of a security or when comparing the rates on different securities. For example, you may hear the term used when yields on what is backflush detailed guide corporate bonds and treasury securities are compared.

Typically, the movement of interest rates for savings accounts and other accounts that pay interest—rates expressed as annual percentage yield, or APY—aligns with the movement of the federal funds rate. So, if the FOMC hikes the federal funds rate, the APY for a high-yield savings account might rise 75 basis points, from 4.25% to 5.00%. Basis points are used as a convenient unit of measurement in contexts where percentage differences of less than 1% are discussed. The most common example is interest rates, where differences in interest rates of less than 1% per year are usually meaningful to talk about. For example, a difference of 0.10 percentage points is equivalent to a change of 10 basis points (e.g., a 4.67% rate increases by 10 basis points to 4.77%).

Since interest rates don’t affect the stock market directly, changes in stock prices are referred to in dollars and cents. Two words—basis points—are the key to measuring increases and decreases in interest rates. Changes in interest rates affect the mortgage you take out to purchase a home, the loan you get to buy a car and the amount of interest a bank or credit union pays on a savings account.

For example, a federal funds rate target of 0.25 percent is equal to a target of 25 basis points. Likewise, an annual fee of 75 basis points is the same as 0.75 percent of the portfolio’s value. They provide a more reliable and consistent measurement of changes, rather than ratios of the percentage change in terms of movement.

Our work has been directly cited by organizations including Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Investopedia, Forbes, CNBC, and many others. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Therefore, it may not even matter the number of basis points; for risk management, the key part is understanding the direction in which basis points are aggregating. Risk managers use basis points to monitor these spreads and adjust their credit exposure accordingly.