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It is known that between 2021 and 2022, LIBOR rates will cease to exist. Therefore bond issuers started to link their newly issued floaters to O/N rates based on actual trades such as SOFR for USD or €STR for EUR.

Accrued interest is calculated either as compound (most often) or simple interest for some period based on lagged daily values of O/N rates. So far it sounds simply, however, there are a lot of convention for calculation of compound interest. It is possible to calculate with lagged O/N rate, shifted coupon period etc.

My question: is there any comprehensive overview of conventions for accrued interest calculation for floaters linked to O/N rates?

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    $\begingroup$ You might want to have a look at documents from the risk free rate working groups in the US, EU and UK. Unfortunately, I do not have the documents at hand; but I know that the UK group is discussing these topics at some length. Do let me know if you have trouble finding the documentation. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 26, 2020 at 19:29
  • $\begingroup$ @Kermittfrog: Thanks, I went through documentation of O/N rates on regulators website (Fed...). However, I am looking for some comprehensive manual (documentation). $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 18:25
  • $\begingroup$ I'm also interested in recommendations regarding accrued interest calculation for derivatives or instruments with fixing tied to O/N rates (lookback fixing). Consider for example the case of calculating the bought/sold interest on a FRN mid-period. $\endgroup$ Commented May 22, 2020 at 7:17
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    $\begingroup$ AFAIK, to date not a single convention has been established yet. That said, bond markets are not my field of expertise and likely someone here on QSE knows more about this; so I'd be also interested to see if someone can answer this question. I myself found this doc from the ARRC pretty helpful newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/Microsites/arrc/files/2021/… (and in fact it's focussed on FRNs/cash products), so it might be interesting for you. $\endgroup$
    – KevinT
    Commented Apr 20, 2021 at 6:33

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It is possible to calculate with lagged O/N rate, shifted coupon period etc.

Yes, the terms I often hear to describe these are "lookback" and "observation shift". Referring to a shifted observation of the O/N rate and a shifted coupon period respectively (ri and ni in the below equations). These methods primarily aid in market participants being able to calculate accrual and coupon payments in advance of settlement. A 2 day lookback is common in SOFR cash markets and a 5 day lookback is common in SONIA and ESTR cash markets. Observation shifts are most common in SOFR markets.

As mentioned there is no single convention for O/N rate calculations and the FRNs have introduced a lot more variation than was standard in the derivative market. However, for compounding overnight rates, the conventions can be thought of as small adjustments to the ISDA OIS compounding formula.

Here are how some of the key conventions impact the calculation of the annualized coupon rate for a period. Accrual is then just scaling the annualized rate by the applicable year fraction.

Notation: \begin{align*} & d_b = the\,number\,of\,business\,days\,in\,the\,interest\,period \\ & d_c = the\,number\,of\,calendar\,days\,in\,the\,interest\,(or\,observation)\,period \\ & r_i = the\,interest\,rate\,applicable\,on\,business\,day\,i \\ & n_i = the\,number\,of\,calendar\,days\,for\,which\,rate\,r_i\,applies \\ & N = days\,in\,the\,year\,based\,on\,market\,convention \\ & k = number\,of\,lookback\,days\,applied\,to\,the\,security\\ & l = number\,of\,lockout\,days\,applied\,to\,the\,security \end{align*}

  1. Average \begin{equation} averageRate = \left[\sum_{i=1}^{d_{b}} \left(\frac{r_{i} \times n_{i}}{N} \right) \right] \times \frac{N}{d_c} + margin \end{equation} I deleted the 1 that was up here
  2. Compounded \begin{equation} compoundedRate = \left[\prod_{i=1}^{d_{b}} \left(1+\frac{r_{i} \times n_{i}}{N} \right) -1 \right] \times \frac{N}{d_c} + margin \end{equation}
  3. Compound rate and margin \begin{equation} compoundedRate = \left[\prod_{i=1}^{d_{b}} \left(1+\frac{(r_{i}+margin) \times n_{i}}{N} \right) -1 \right] \times \frac{N}{d_c} \end{equation}
  4. Compound with lookback \begin{equation} compoundedRate = \left[\prod_{i=1}^{d_{b}} \left(1+\frac{r_{i-k} \times n_{i}}{N} \right) -1 \right] \times \frac{N}{d_c} + margin \end{equation}
  5. Observation shift \begin{equation} compoundedRate = \left[\prod_{i=1}^{d_{b}} \left(1+\frac{r_{i-k} \times n_{i-k}}{N} \right) -1 \right] \times \frac{N}{d_c} + margin \end{equation} Note: Days of accrued can also be adjusted for the observation shift. In my mind this is very similar in impact to a payment delay, just applied in a convoluted way, but alas, we see it in the wild.
  6. Lockout \begin{equation} compoundedRate = \left[\prod_{i=1}^{d_{b}-l-1} \left(1+\frac{(r_{i}) \times n_{i}}{N} \right)\prod_{i=d_b-l}^{d_{b}} \left(1+\frac{(r_{d_b-l}) \times n_{i}}{N} \right) -1 \right] \times \frac{N}{d_c}+margin \end{equation}

From the Fed: "Templates for using SOFR"

ISDA: Memorandum on RFR methods

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