Interest Rate Swap Concepts and Exercise (CFA Video)

Interest Rate Swap Concepts and Exercise (CFA Video)

 

Question:

 

A bank enters into a $2M interest rate swap as a fixed rate payer at 5% (360-day year). The counterpart will pay 180-day LIBOR + 1% premium. Settlement period is every 180 days. How much will the bank pay/receive 180 days from now, if

 

180-day LIBOR today: 5%

180-day LIBOR 180 days from now: 6%

Fixed Rate 180 days from now: 4%

 

Answer:

 

 

Imagine both parties borrow loans (same amount, currency) from each other

 

Interest: fixed vs floating

 

At beginning, no exchange of principals

 

Unlike the currency swap

 

At the end of each period, only pay net interest for the borrowed money

 

the end of the swap, no returns of principals

 

The bank will receive: 60k-50k

=10k

 

Recall:

 

net fixed rate payment

 

=(fixed rate – floating rate) * (#of days/360) *notional Principal

= (5% – 6%) * (180/360) * $2M = -10k

5 Comments

stephDecember 17th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

Thank you so much for this video, it really made this concept a whole lot easier. In essence, it is saying that for the interest rate swap, it’s usually the same amount being borrowed in the same currency, all you have to decide which rate to use for the fixed rate payer- well you aloways use the rate at the beginning of the contract and for libor you use the rate prior the period you want.Floating rate minus the fixed, if possitive, you owe the fixed payer and vise versa.

For the currency rate however, you exchange the currencies and also decide which rate to use for the fixed rate payer and libor rate, and you exchange the pincipals at the end.

What i want to find out though, whether we use the same formular for 6mnths payment instead of yearly payments.

Thanks

EditorDecember 21st, 2009 at 7:10 am

Steph, this example is for 6-month payment already as we are using 180days. Thanks!

Robert SaboOctober 12th, 2010 at 6:28 am

You do not use Libor for the previous period, you use Libor for the current period. The trick is that Libor is set up front in any given period. So, for example in a standard swap, if a payment period was June 5 to December 5, you would use the six-month rate (or, “180 day rate” applying the jargon used in this website) Libor set two business days prior to June 5 – but is the effective 180-day Libor rate for June 5 to December 5.

So, the Libor rate is set up front (in fact, two business days prior to the start dat in the period) but it is still the effective Libor rate for the period in question, not the prior period’s rate!

Simple explanations, examples, and much more on the subject of interest rate swaps can be found at the SwapDesk.

There are variations of this, such as a Libor-in-arrears swap where Libor is set at the end of the period, but by far the most common and traditional swap uses the standard up front setting as described here.

fatDecember 4th, 2010 at 6:56 am

thank you for your effort on the simple explanation on this topic

umerAugust 11th, 2011 at 9:03 am

I also need information how parties save money through swaPs????

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