Historically significant interest rate numbers and statistics, and hopefully somewhat fun also (if interest rates can be fun). Read it and there will be a joke at the bottom.
- 21.5% – The highest prime interest rate ever recorded in the U.S., set in December 1980.
- 0,00 – 0.25% – The lowest Federal Funds Rate set during the 2008 financial crisis.
- 250,000,000% – Hyperinflationary interest rate in Zimbabwe in 2008.
- 14,5% – The Reserve Bank of India’s highest repo rate, set in 2000.
- 1.16% – Japan’s highest short-term interest rate since 1997. And a record low of 0.05 % in Nov 2022.
- 1971 – The year when the U.S. abandoned the gold standard, affecting interest rates.
- 2% – The Federal Reserve’s long-term inflation target, established over several years.
- 390% to 780%- Payday loan interest rate. Payday loan finance charges typically run from $15 to $30 per $100 loaned; when calculated in terms of annual percentage rate (APR), for a two-week loan, this come to an APR of between 390% and 780%. (Noyes, 2006) and (Plunkett and Hurtado, 2011; Noyes, 2006; Drysdale and Keest, 1999)
- 7.74% – 30 Year Mortgage Rate in the United States averaged 7.74 percent from 1971 until 2023.
- 1913 – The year the Federal Reserve was founded.5.25% – Federal Reserve’s highest Federal Funds Rate in the 21st century before 2023, set in on Jun. 29, 2006.
Interest rate jokes:
The interest rates for a loan in the carribean are… 3.14.
What do you call a shark that sells dirt at high interest rates? A loam shark.
