Federal Funds Rate - Comparison With LIBOR

Comparison With LIBOR

Though the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the federal funds rate are concerned with the same action, i.e. interbank loans, they are distinct from one another, as follows:

• The target federal funds rate is a target interest rate that is set by the FOMC for implementing U.S. monetary policies.
• The (effective) federal funds rate is achieved through open market operations at the Domestic Trading Desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York which deals primarily in domestic securities (U.S. Treasury and federal agencies' securities).
• LIBOR is calculated from prevailing interest rates between highly credit-worthy institutions.
• LIBOR may or may not be used to derive business terms. It is not fixed beforehand and is not meant to have macroeconomic ramifications.