Interest Rates
What is a Treasury Swap Rate?
The US Treasury Swaps work just like any other interest rate swap, but are pegged to the US Treasuries rather than another index (i. e. LIBOR). The Treasury contract would be an agreement between two separate parties to exchange one stream of payments (i. e. treasury bill) for another over a set period of time. The parties to a typical swap contract are 1) a business, financial institution or investor on one side and 2) an investment or commercial bank on the other side. Interest rate swaps, including treasury swaps, can be used for many disparate purposes. Businesses can convert their debt on floating interest rates to fixed interest rates or investors may speculate on the long-term interes...
What is a Treasury Rate (Yield)?
The US Treasury Yield (also referred to as the Treasury Yield Curve Rates, Constant Maturity Treasury Rates, or CMTs) are calculated by the US Department of the Treasury from the daily yield curve. These rates are essentially the return an investor would receive from the purchase of a US government debt obligation (i. e. a bill, note or bond); it is the interest rate that the government pays to the investors in order to borrow money for different lengths of time (i. e. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months for short terms and 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 30 years for longer terms). [Insert Current Treasury Rates Here]The treasury rate curve is plotted on an x and y axis and shows several y...
Interest Rate Swaps & How to Use Them
A bank may suggest that a borrower use an interest rate swap (IRS) in conjunction with an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) instead of a traditional ARM or fixed-rate commercial real estate loan product when interest rates are low but expected to rise in the future. This hedges future interest rate risk and can have certain advantages over typical fixed rate mortgage products. Typically borrowers will choose a swap rather than a typical ARM or fixed rate portfolio loan for the following reasons:To get a lower all-in interest rate and paymentsTo protect against future interest rate increasesTo lessen or eliminate potential prepayment penalties A swap is a type of interest rate derivative (IRD) t...
5 Reasons Your Commercial Mortgage Rate Could Go Up Before Closing
For both new and experienced investors, the commercial loan diligence and closing process can be stressful, and the last thing any borrower wants to think about is their interest rate increasing between submitting their loan application and closing. However, there are several factors that can lead to an interest rate change before the loan closes, which can not only affect investor returns, but potentially down payments if the change is drastic enough. The 5 most common reasons an interest rate increase can happen are the following:One of the easiest ways to protect yourself from interest rate increases is to lock the interest rate before closing. Locks (if available) can freeze the rate for...
