# Basis Points Key: `finance.rate.basis_points` Financial rate expressed in basis points (bps or bp). One basis point = 0.01% = 0.0001 in decimal. Standard in fixed-income markets, central bank data, and debt analysis. Common in Bloomberg, Reuters, and central bank feeds. Page: Samples: `125 bps`, `25.5 bps`, `-50 bp`, `100 bps` ## Background ### Origin A basis point is one hundredth of 1 percentage point.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) One basis point equals 0.01%, or 0.0001.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) The basis point is often abbreviated as bp.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) The basis point is often pronounced as "bip" or "beep".[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) The term "basis point" has its origins in trading the "basis", the spread between two interest rates.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) Because the basis is usually small, it is quoted multiplied up by 10,000, so a full point movement in the basis is a basis point.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) ### Use Changes of interest rates are often stated in basis points.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) In the financial industry it is common practice to use basis points to denote a rate change in a financial instrument, or the spread between two interest rates, including the yields of fixed-income securities.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) A loan bearing interest of 0.50% per annum above SOFR is said to be 50 basis points over SOFR, commonly written S+50bps or simply S+50.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) Expense ratios of investment funds are often quoted in basis points.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) Like percentage points, basis points avoid the ambiguity between relative and absolute discussions of interest rates by dealing only with the absolute change in a rate.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) A reported "1% increase" from a 10% rate could mean a rise to 10.1% or to 11%, whereas a "100 basis point increase" from 10% means a rise to 11%.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) Keep a basis-point figure as it is until you need to do arithmetic with it, since the unit itself tells the reader the change is absolute. (Meridian's view) The St. Louis Fed's FRED database publishes the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity spread (T10Y2Y) in units of percent.[[2]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T10Y2Y) The Federal Reserve's FOMC statement of 10 December 2025 described its decision as lowering the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point.[[3]](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20251210a.htm) A spread or a rate move can arrive in percent from one source and in basis points from another, so confirm the unit of each feed before you join or compare them. (Meridian's view) Before combining a basis-point column with a rate column, check whether it holds a spread, a change or a level. (Meridian's view) ### Where you'll meet it The European Central Bank's press release of 5 June 2025 on its monetary policy decisions states that the Governing Council decided to lower the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points.[[4]](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.mp250605~3b5f67d007.en.html) ## Sources 1. [Basis point](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basis_point) — secondary source 2. [10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity (T10Y2Y) \| FRED \| St. Louis Fed](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T10Y2Y) — dataset 3. [Federal Reserve Board - Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20251210a.htm) — organisation 4. [Monetary policy decisions](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.mp250605~3b5f67d007.en.html) — organisation