Effective Interest Rate
The term effective interest rate is the actual return from a savings account or any investment where you pay interest when considering the effects of compounding costs over time. Through an effective interest rate, you can fully and correctly determine the real percentage rate that you own on a loan’s interest, a credit card, or any other debt type.
An effective interest rate is also referred to as an effective annual interest rate, the annual equivalent rate, or the effective rate.
The Effective Interest Rate Formula:
With:
i = Nominal Interest Rate
n = Number of periods
What does the Effective Interest Rate Mean?
When you look at loans, the way through which they are advertised will give you two types of information. Firstly, we’ll have the nominal interest rate, which doesn’t consider the effects compounding interest or fees have on the financial product. Secondly, and the one we focus on now, the effective interest rate, which gives you the real return paid on savings of the actual cost of a loan because it does take into account the effect fees and compounding interest have on the financial product.
For that exact reason, knowing and understanding what the effective interest rate means is important. Through a proper understanding of the effective interest rate, you can compare offers more accurately to make an informed decision based on the result.
How to Find the Effective Interest Rate?
To adequately explain how to find the effective interest rate from any financial product’s promotional information, we will look at two examples. Firstly, we’ll have Loan A that has a 5% interest rate that’s compounded monthly. Secondly, we’ll have Loan B with a 5.1% interest rate that’s compounded bi-annually.
Both of these loans are advertised with their nominal interest rate. Remember, this is the one that doesn’t take into account the effects fees and compounding interest has on the loan. To calculate the effective interest rate, we’ll use the formula shown above.
While the nominal interest rate for Loan A is smaller than that of Loan B’s, the effective interest rate from Loan B is lower than that of Loan A’s. This occurs because Loan B has fewer compounding times over the course of a year.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Land parcel bounded by two intersecting roadways. ...
The annuity factor definition is the use of a financial method that shows the value, present or future, of an amount when it is multiplied by a periodic amount. The calculation of an ...
Underwriting is a term often used with financial connotation. It is a process that helps individuals or institutions to determine if it’s worth taking a financial risk in a particular ...
Buffer amount between the value of the collateral and the principal balance of the obligation. For example, if the mortgage has a principal balance of $200,000 and the appraised value of ...
Land development planning model theorizing that an urban area grows in rings expanding out from the central business district. The second ring is a shifting area having manufacturing and ...
A board made of wood-related materials and covered with a binder primarily designed to provide high quality thermal insulation. There is a wide variety of manufactured products termed fibre ...
Cost excluded from the minimum lease payments to be made by the lessee in a capital lease. The lessee reimburses the lessor for the lessor's expense payments. ...
Concrete or timber beam that serves as a support in the wall structure of a building. Concrete tie beams are often reinforced with steel rods. ...
Real property located in an excellent area for its designated objective. An example is a restaurant situated near office buildings, on the main boulevard, so it is easy to see, and has ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.