Basis Point

A unit of percentage measure equal to 0.01%. Basis points are commonly used when discussing changes to interest rates, equity indices, and fixed-income securities. In the media, perhaps its most common use is in reporting a central bank's changes to prevailing interest rates. For example, a newspaper might report that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates 100 basis points when it means that prevailing rates have dropped from 1.5% to 0.5%.