to hide their debt levels. Banker's acceptance rates Banker's acceptance rates are the market rates at which banker's acceptances trade, and are determined by current values relative to face values. They represent the return received if an acceptance were purchased today at the market price and held until the payment date. All-in rates are banker's acceptance rates which include the bank's commission. Comparison with other drafts When a draft promises immediate payment to the holder of the draft, it is called a sight draft. Cheques written on demand deposits are examples of sight drafts. When a draft promises a deferred payment to the holder of the draft, it is called a time draft. The date on which the payment is due is called the maturity date. In a case where the payee and drawee of a time draft are distinct parties, the payee may submit the draft to the drawee for confirmation that the draft is a legitimate order and that the drawee will make payment on the specified date. Such confirmation is called an acceptance — the drawee accepts the order to pay as legitimate. The drawee stamps ACCEPTED on the draft and is thereafter obligated to make the specified payment when it is due. If the drawee is a bank, the acceptance is called a banker's acceptance. Bankers acceptances are considered eligible collateral under the Treasury Tax & Loan (TT&L) Program under 31 CFR part 203 Comparison of banker's discount with true discount (as per present value) Often, banks were willing to buy time drafts from the party holding the acceptance, provided the issuer was credit worthy. If the party holding the acceptance sold the note before maturity, a discount value called the Banker's Discount was used to reduce the face value of the amount to be handed over to the claimant. Historically, the discount rate used by the Banks on such acceptances was FV × r × t (FV: Face Value, r: interest rate, t: time period). If this discount is applied, the value of the amount returned to the holder of the acceptance will mathematically be lower than the True Value (or Present Value) of the note. The difference is called as Banker's Gain and represents the profits earned by the Bank in exchange for accepting the risk of default. See also Banker's draft Commercial paper Forfaiting References Corporate finance Fixed-income securities Money market instruments