Question

Hardy Company must maintain a compensating balance of $50,000 in its checking account as one of the conditions of its short-term 6% bank loan of $500,000. Hardy's checking account earns 2% interest. Ordinarily, Hardy would maintain a $20,000 balance in the account for transaction purposes. What is the loan's approximate effective interest rate

Answer 1

The loan's approximate effective interest rate is 6.17%.

Step-by-step explanation:

Interest expense = Short term bank loan * Short term bank loan interest rate = $500,000 * 6% = $30,000

Interest income = Balance in the account checking account * Interest rate on checking account balance = $20,000 * 2% = $400

Net interest expense = Interest expense - Interest income = $30,000 - $400 = $29,600

Available amount = Short term bank loan interest rate - Balance in the account checking account = $500,000 - $20,000 = $480,000

Effective interest rate = Net interest expense / Available amount = $29,600 / $480,000 = 0.0617, or 6.17%

Therefore, the loan's approximate effective interest rate is 6.17%.