1.
benchmark interest rate; reference rate
The reference interest rate used as a baseline for setting the rates on loans, mortgages, and other financial products. A bank's advertised loan rate is typically expressed as 'the benchmark rate plus/minus X percentage points'.
Because the Bank of Japan changed its policy, each bank's benchmark interest rate was also revised.
Composed of 基準 (standard, basis) and 金利 (interest rate). A financial term referring to the reference rate that banks and other lenders publish and use as the baseline for pricing their loan products.
Usage
The headline rate that banks display for mortgages and business loans is typically the 基準金利; the rate a customer actually pays is that rate adjusted by a discount (優遇) based on creditworthiness and the type of loan. Changes in this rate ripple through to mortgages, consumer loans, and corporate borrowing.
Common collocations
- 基準金利を引き上げる / 引き下げる: to raise / lower the benchmark interest rate
- 基準金利が上昇する / 下落する: the benchmark rate rises / falls
- 基準金利に連動する: to be linked to the benchmark interest rate
- 店頭表示金利: the posted (over-the-counter) rate, essentially the same as 基準金利 for retail banking
Similar words
- 政策金利: policy interest rate — the rate set by the central bank (日銀), which drives the 基準金利 of commercial banks
- 優遇金利: preferential interest rate — a discounted rate below the benchmark, offered to specific customers
- 適用金利: applied interest rate — the rate actually applied to a given loan, after any adjustments
- 市場金利: market interest rate — the rate determined by financial markets, which influences the benchmark
Related Words
Compare:
政策金利 (policy interest rate)