Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in United States
United States: Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) was 3.2% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Risk premium on lending in United States, 1960–2021
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %.
Analysis
United States recorded 3.2% for risk premium on lending in 2021.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk premium on lending in United States peaked at 4.8% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1965.
United States ranks 50th of 86 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in United States, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus treasury bill rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.9% | — |
| 1961 | 2.1% | +13.3% |
| 1962 | 1.7% | -18.9% |
| 1963 | 1.3% | -22.0% |
| 1964 | 0.9% | -29.5% |
| 1965 | 0.6% | -38.1% |
| 1966 | 0.7% | +26.7% |
| 1967 | 1.3% | +75.1% |
| 1968 | 1.0% | -25.8% |
| 1969 | 1.3% | +30.8% |
| 1970 | 1.5% | +16.6% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | -6.1% |
| 1972 | 1.2% | -14.8% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | -15.6% |
| 1974 | 2.9% | +193.8% |
| 1975 | 2.0% | -30.3% |
| 1976 | 1.8% | -9.7% |
| 1977 | 1.6% | -15.3% |
| 1978 | 1.8% | +17.5% |
| 1979 | 2.6% | +43.1% |
| 1980 | 3.7% | +39.2% |
| 1981 | 4.8% | +31.3% |
| 1982 | 4.1% | -13.7% |
| 1983 | 2.2% | -47.4% |
| 1984 | 2.5% | +13.6% |
| 1985 | 2.4% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 2.4% | -3.4% |
| 1987 | 2.4% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 2.6% | +11.2% |
| 1989 | 2.8% | +4.4% |
| 1990 | 2.5% | -9.4% |
| 1991 | 3.1% | +22.2% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | -8.6% |
| 1993 | 3.0% | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 2.9% | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 3.3% | +15.6% |
| 1996 | 3.2% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 3.4% | +3.9% |
| 1998 | 3.5% | +4.8% |
| 1999 | 3.3% | -5.6% |
| 2000 | 3.4% | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 3.5% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 3.1% | -11.7% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 3.0% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 3.0% | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 3.2% | +6.5% |
| 2007 | 3.6% | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 3.6% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | -14.8% |
| 2010 | 3.1% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 3.2% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 3.2% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 3.2% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 3.2% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 3.2% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 3.0% | -6.3% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +1.4% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 3.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.9%, 1.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +193.8% | 1.0% | 2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.3% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.0% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 2.2% | 4.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3% | 3.0% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States
More financial sector data for United States
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 17.82 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 89.64 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 12.2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 65.46 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 17.82 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 89.64 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 12.2 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is risk premium on lending in United States?
- Risk premium on lending in United States was 3.2% in 2021, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest risk premium on lending recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 1981.
- What is the lowest risk premium on lending recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1965.
- How does United States rank for risk premium on lending?
- United States ranks 50th out of 86 countries with data for 2021.
- Is risk premium on lending rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.