Interest can be charged on accounts for several reasons, but it is most frequently charged when funds are borrowed from IBKR. This is generally associated with carrying a debit settled cash balance. However, customers should also note that carrying a high credit balance in specific currencies might also be subject to paying credit interest fees due to the negative benchmark rates presently inflicted by a few central banking systems. Our present rates, with the applicable benchmarks included, are available on the Interest & Financing page of the IBKR website.
Clients should note, that accounts containing a Net Asset Value (NAV) of 100,000 (or equivalent) or more will be paid interest at the full rate to which they are entitled. Accounts with NAV of less than $100,000 (or equivalent) will receive interest at rates comparable to the size of the account. For example, an account with a NAV of $50,000 will earn credit interest at a rate equal to one-half the rate paid by IBKR to accounts with a NAV of $100,000 or more. It is vital to consider that short stock collateral and futures risk margin are backed out of settled cash amounts when deciding interest. On the other hand, short stock positions may be subject to hard-to-borrow fees, as described on the Securities Financing page of our website. Interest estimations are made on a one-day lag and accruals will be reflected on accounts once the estimated sum surpasses a posting threshold of $1.00 (or equivalent). The particular practise for calculating this amount can be found on the Interest Calculations page of the IBKR website.