Chapter 6
Interest Rates
Cost of Money and Interest Rate
Levels
Determinants of Interest Rates
The Term Structure and Yield Curves
Using Yield Curve to Estimate Future
Interest Rates
6-1
What four factors affect the level of
interest rates?
Production
opportunities
Time preferences
for consumption
Risk
Expected inflation
6-2
“Nominal” vs. “Real” Rates
r= represents any nominal rate
r*= represents the “real” risk-free rate of
interest. Like a T-bill rate, if there was no
inflation. Typically ranges from 1% to 5%
per year.
rRF= represents the rate of interest on
Treasury securities.
6-3
Determinants of Interest Rates
r = r* + IP + DRP + LP + MRP
r = required return on a debt security
r* = real risk-free rate of interest
IP = inflation premium
DRP = default risk premium
LP = liquidity premium
MRP = maturity risk premium
6-4
Premiums Added to r* for Different
Types of Debt
IP MRP DRP LP
S-T Treasury
L-T Treasury
S-T Corporate
L-T Corporate
6-5
Yield Curve and the Term Structure
of Interest Rates
Term structure –
relationship between
interest rates (or yields)
and maturities.
The yield curve is a
graph of the term
structure.
The October 2008
Treasury yield curve is
shown at the right.
6-6
Constructing the Yield Curve:
Inflation
Step 1 – Find the average expected inflation
rate over Years 1 to N:
INFL t
IPN t 1
N
6-7
Constructing the Yield Curve:
Inflation
Assume inflation is expected to be 5% next year,
6% the following year, and 8% thereafter.
IP1 5% /1 5.00%
IP10 [5% 6% 8%(8)]/10 7.50%
IP20 [5% 6% 8%(18)]/20 7.75%
Must earn these IPs to break even vs. inflation;
these IPs would permit you to earn r* (before
taxes).
6-8
Constructing the Yield Curve:
Maturity Risk
Step 2 – Find the appropriate maturity risk
premium (MRP). For this example, the
following equation will be used to find a
security’s appropriate maturity risk premium.
MRPt = 0.1% (t – 1)
6-9
Constructing the Yield Curve:
Maturity Risk
Using the given equation:
MRP1 0.1% (1 1) 0.0%
MPP10 0.1% (10 1) 0.9%
MRP20 0.1% (20 1) 1.9%
Notice that since the equation is linear, the
maturity risk premium is increasing as the time
to maturity increases, as it should be.
6-10
Add the IPs and MRPs to r* to Find
the Appropriate Nominal Rates
Step 3 – Adding the premiums to r*.
rRF, t = r* + IPt + MRPt
Assume r* = 3%,
rRF, 1 3% 5.0% 0.0% 8.0%
rRF , 10 3% 7.5% 0.9% 11.4%
rRF , 20 3% 7.75% 1.9% 12.65%
6-11
Hypothetical Yield Curve
An upward sloping
Interest yield curve.
Rate (%)
15 Maturity risk premium Upward slope due
to an increase in
expected inflation
10 Inflation premium and increasing
maturity risk
5 premium.
Real risk-free rate
Years to
0 Maturity
1 10 20
6-12
Relationship Between Treasury Yield Curve
and Yield Curves for Corporate Issues
Corporate yield curves are higher than that of
Treasury securities, though not necessarily
parallel to the Treasury curve.
The spread between corporate and Treasury
yield curves widens as the corporate bond
rating decreases.
6-13
Illustrating the Relationship Between
Corporate and Treasury Yield Curves
Interest
Rate (%)
15
BB-Rated
10
AAA-Rated
Treasury
6.0% Yield Curve
5 5.9%
5.2%
Years to
0 Maturity
0 1 5 10 15 20
6-14
Pure Expectations Hypothesis
The PEH contends that the shape of the yield
curve depends on investor’s expectations
about future interest rates.
If interest rates are expected to increase, L-T
rates will be higher than S-T rates, and vice-
versa. Thus, the yield curve can slope up,
down, or even bow.
6-15
Assumptions of the PEH
Assumes that the maturity risk premium for
Treasury securities is zero.
Long-term rates are an average of current
and future short-term rates.
If PEH is correct, you can use the yield curve
to “back out” expected future interest rates.
6-16
An Example:
Observed Treasury Rates and the PEH
Maturity Yield
1 year 6.0%
2 years 6.2%
3 years 6.4%
4 years 6.5%
5 years 6.5%
If PEH holds, what does the market expect will
be the interest rate on one-year securities, one
year from now? Three-year securities, two
years from now?
6-17
One-Year Forward Rate
6.0% x%
0 1 2
6.2%
(1.062)2 = (1.060) (1 + X)
1.12784/1.060 = (1 + X)
6.4004% = X
PEH says that one-year securities will yield
6.4004%, one year from now.
Notice, if an arithmetic average is used, the
answer is still very close. Solve: 6.2% =
(6.0% + X)/2, and the result will be 6.4%.
6-18
Three-Year Security, Two Years
from Now
6.2% x%
0 1 2 3 4 5
6.5%
(1.065)5 = (1.062)2 (1 + X)3
1.37009/1.12784 = (1 + X)3
6.7005% = X
PEH says that three-year securities will yield
6.7005%, two years from now.
6-19
Conclusions about PEH
Some would argue that the MRP ≠ 0, and
hence the PEH is incorrect.
Most evidence supports the general view that
lenders prefer S-T securities, and view L-T
securities as riskier.
Thus, investors demand a premium to persuade
them to hold L-T securities (i.e., MRP > 0).
6-20
Macroeconomic Factors That
Influence Interest Rate Levels
Federal reserve policy
Federal budget deficits or surpluses
International factors
Level of business activity
6-21
