Prime rate

As of 26 December 2023[update], the prime rate was 8.50% in the United States[2] and 7.20% in Canada.

[3] In the United States, the prime rate runs approximately 300 basis points (or 3 percentage points) above the federal funds rate, which is the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans made to fulfill reserve funding requirements.

Prior to December 17, 2008, the Wall Street Journal followed a policy of changing its published prime rate when 23 out of 30 of the United States' largest banks changed their prime rates.

[4] Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) has set a group-wide base rate at 3.2%, effective Jan 2, 2015.

[5] Though certain banks may be setting a higher BR compared to others, they can sometimes offer lower ELR to customers in order to remain competitive.