Lesson 6 of 25 · 6 min
Finding the spread
The lender's margin sits beside the index, and it is the half of the rate that is not public.
The spread is the lender's margin over the index, and it is the half of the stated rate that a market publication will not confirm. On this page it is printed as 1.85%. That is 1.85 points, or 185 basis points. Added to each fixing it produces the two stated rates: 5.12% + 1.85% = 6.97%, and 5.37% + 1.85% = 7.22%.
Because the spread is a contractual margin, two checks are available when the page is this complete. The first is the printed spread line against each stated-rate identity. The second is the two identities against each other: both gaps equal 1.85 points, so the margin did not re-tier mid-month. A page that printed only stated rates would still have a spread; it would not have a printed one.
The spread is also the part that can move for reasons that are not the index. A tier change, a discretionary revision, a different margin on a different facility — those are lender facts. On this March page none of them occurred. The 0.25 point stated-rate move is the index. The 1.85 points sit still. That stillness is information, and it is only visible because the spread is broken out.
Finding the spread is therefore either reading the line that names it, or subtracting index from stated rate on every segment and checking the remainders match. This fixture lets you do both. A statement that omits the index leaves only the second method, and then only if you fetch the fixings yourself.
Key terms
- Spread
- The lender's contractual margin above the index, in percentage points. Here, 1.85 points on both sides of the reset.
- Stated rate
- Index plus spread, the annual rate a segment actually accrues at. Here, 6.97% then 7.22%.
- Basis point
- One hundredth of a percentage point. 1.85 points is 185 basis points. Same quantity, two unit labels.
Worked example
1.85 points, recovered two ways
The Halden & Wren rate schedule, March 2026.
- Printed spread line
- 1.85%
- First-segment identity
- 6.97% − 5.12% = 1.85 points
- Second-segment identity
- 7.22% − 5.37% = 1.85 points
- Change in spread at the 12 March reset
- 0.00 points
- Change in index at the same reset
- 0.25 points
- Change in stated rate
- 0.25 points
Equals the index move, not a spread revision.
A spread that is printed and a spread that is recovered by subtraction are the same 1.85 points on this page. Agreement between those two reads is the check.
Check yourself
Index 5.12% then 5.37%, stated rates 6.97% then 7.22%. What is the spread on each segment, and did Halden & Wren revise it in March?
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Educational only. Nothing in this lesson is investment, legal or tax advice, or a recommendation to enter into any transaction. Figures are illustrative and computed from the inputs stated in the lesson.