1. Structure of Interest Rates
Chapter 8
Structure of Interest Rates
© 2003 John Wiley and Sons

2. Chapter Outcomes
Describe how interest rates change in response to shifts in the supply and demand for loanable funds
Identify major historical movements in interest rates in the United States
Describe what is meant by the loanable funds theory of interest rates

3. Chapter Outcomes (Continued)
Identify the major determinants of market interest rates
Describe the types of marketable securities issued by the U.S. Treasury
Describe the ownership of Treasury securities and the maturity distribution of the federal debt

4. Chapter Outcomes (Continued)
Explain what is meant by the term or maturity structure of interest rates
Identify and briefly describe the three theories used to explain the term structure of interest rates
Identify broad historical price level changes in the U. S. and other economies and discuss their causes

5. Chapter Outcomes (Concluded)
Describe the various types of inflation and their causes
Discuss the effect of default risk premiums on the level of long-term interest rates

6. Basic Interest Rate Concepts
INTEREST RATE: Price that equates the demand for and supply of loanable funds
ROLE OF FINANCIAL MARKETS: Interest rates are determined by the supply and demand for loanable funds in financial markets

7. Historical Changes in U. S
Historical Changes in U.S. Interest Rate Levels: Periods of Rising Interest Rates
(rapid economic expansion after the Civil War)
(pre-war expansion and World War I-related inflation)
(economic boom in late 1920s followed by major depression)
1946-early 1980s (rapid economic expansion after World War II)

8. Historical Changes in U. S
Historical Changes in U.S. Interest Rate Levels: Periods of Falling Interest Rates
(supply of funds exceeded demand for funds and prices fell)
(rapid growth in supply of funds and falling prices)
(actions taken to fight the depression and finance World War II)
Since early 1980s (generally declining prices and interest rates)

9. Loanable Funds Theory
DEFINITION: States that interest rates are a function of the supply of and demand for loanable funds
SOURCES OF LOANABLE FUNDS:
--current savings
--expansion of deposits by depository institutions

10. Interest Rate Determination in the Financial MarketsB S1 S1 8%
Interest rate (r)
Interest rate (r) 7% D2 D1 D1
Quantity of Loanable Funds
Quantity of Loanable Funds S2 S1 S2 S1 9% 8%
Interest rate (r)
Interest rate (r) D1 D1 D3
Quantity of Loanable Funds
Quantity of Loanable Funds C D

11. Factors Affecting the Supply of Loanable Funds
Volume of Savings
Expansion of Deposits by Depository Institutions
Liquidity Attitudes

12. Determinants of Market Interest Rates
NOMINAL INTEREST RATE (R): Interest rate that is observed in the marketplace
BASIC EQUATION: r = RR + IP + DRP
REAL RATE OF INTEREST (RR): Interest rate on a risk-free debt instrument when no inflation is expected

13. Determinants of Market Interest Rates (Continued)
BASIC EQUATION: r = RR + IP + DRP
INFLATION PREMIUM (IP): Average inflation rate expected over the life of the security
DEFAULT RISK PREMIUM (DRP): Compensation for the possibility of the borrower’s failure to pay interest and/or principal when due

14. Determinants of Market Interest Rates (Concluded)
BASIC EQUATION EXPANDED: r = RR + IP + DRP + MRP + LP
MATURITY RISK PREMIUM (MRP): Compensation expected by investors due to interest rate risk on debt instruments with longer maturities
LIQUIDITY PREMIUM (LP): Compensation for securities that cannot easily be converted to cash without major price discounts

15. Interest Rate Risk
DEFINITION: Possible price fluctuations in fixed-rate debt instruments associated with changes in market interest rates
REASON: An inverse relationship exists between debt instrument values or prices and nominal interest rates in the marketplace

16. Risk-Free Rate of Interest
DEFINITION: Interest rate on a debt instrument with no default, maturity, or liquidity risks (Treasury securities are the closest example)
EQUATION: Risk-Free Rate = Real Rate (RR) + Inflation Premium (IP)

17. Two Types of U.S. Government Debt Obligations
MARKETABLE GOVERNMENT SECURITIES: Securities that may be bought and sold through the usual market channels
NONMARKETABLE GOVERNMENT SECURITIES: Issues that cannot be transferred between persons or institutions but must be redeemed with the U.S. government

18. Types of U.S. Treasury Debt Obligations
TREASURY BILLS: Obligations that bear the shortest (up to one year) original maturities
TREASURY NOTES: Obligations issued for maturities of one to ten years
TREASURY BONDS: Obligations of any maturity but usually over five years

19. Term or Maturity Structure of Interest Rates
TERM STRUCTURE: Relationship between interest rates or yields and the time to maturity for debt instruments of comparable quality
YIELD CURVE: Graphic presentation of the term structure of interest rates at a given point in time

20. Term Structure Extremes for U.S. Treasury Securities
Maturity
March 1980
Nov. 2001
6 months
15.0%
1.9%
1 year
14.0%
2.2%
5 years
13.5%
4.0%
10 years
12.8%
4.7%
20 years
12.5%
5.3%
30 years
12.3%
5.1%

21. Three Term Structure Theories
EXPECTATIONS THEORY: Shape of the yield curve indicates investor expectations about future inflation rates
LIQUIDITY PREFERENCE THEORY: Investors are willing to accept lower interest rates on short-term debt securities which provide greater liquidity and less interest rate risk

22. Three Term Structure Theories (Continued)
MARKET SEGMENTATION THEORY: Interest rates may differ because securities of different maturities are not perfect substitutes for each other

23. Inflation Premiums and Price Movements
INFLATION: Occurs when an increase in the price of goods or services is not offset by an increase in quality
HISTORICAL PRICE MOVEMENTS: Changes in the money supply or in the amount of metal in the money unit have influenced prices since the earliest records of civilization

24. Periods of Inflation in the U. S.
Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Civil War
World War I
World War II
Postwar Period through Early 1980s

25. Types of Inflation
COST-PUSH INFLATION: Occurs when prices are raised to cover rising production costs, such as wages
DEMAND-PULL INFLATION: Occurs during economic expansions when demand for goods and services is greater than supply

26. Types of Inflation (Continued)
SPECULATIVE INFLATION: Caused by the expectation that prices will continue to rise, resulting in increased buying to avoid even higher future prices
ADMINISTRATIVE INFLATION: The tendency of prices, aided by union-corporation contracts, to rise during economic expansion and to resist declines during recessions

27. Default Risk Premiums
DEFAULT RISK: Risk that a borrower will not pay interest and/or repay the principal on a loan according to the agreed contractual terms
BASIC EQUATION: DPR = r - RR - IP
BASIC EQUATION EXPANDED: DPR = r - RR - IP - MRP - LP

28. Default Risk Premium Example
BASIC INFORMATION: nominal interest rate = 9%; real rate = 3%; inflation premium = 5%; and market risk and liquidity premiums = 0%. What is the default risk premium?
EXPANDED EQUATION: DRP = r - RR - IP - MRP - LP DPR = 9% - 3% - 5% - 0% - 0% = 1%