Custom benchmark rates

Overview

The interest charged on a floating-rate loan changes over time. It is usually calculated as:

Interest rate = benchmark rate + margin

For example, if the benchmark rate is 3.25% and the lender’s margin is 1.50%, the loan’s interest rate is 4.75%.

Atlar automatically provides values for supported market rates such as SOFR, EURIBOR, and €STR. If a loan uses another rate — such as an internal group funding rate or a rate defined by a lender — you can create it as a custom benchmark rate.

After creating the benchmark rate, you:

1. Select it when setting up the loan or facility.
2. Enter the rate value required on each reset date.
3. Let Atlar combine those values with the loan’s margin to calculate interest.

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Key terms

Benchmark rate

• The base rate used to calculate interest on a floating-rate loan. A benchmark rate can be:
  • System-provided — a supported market rate whose values Atlar supplies automatically, such as SOFR or EURIBOR.
  • Custom — a rate created by your organization whose values you enter manually.

Tenor

• How often the rate resets, such as monthly or quarterly. A 3-month tenor means the loan uses a new benchmark value every three months.

Fixing

The benchmark rate recorded for a particular reset date and tenor. For example:

• Benchmark rate: Group funding rate
• Tenor: 3 months
• Reset date: 1 April 2026
• Fixing: 3.25%

If the loan has a margin of 1.50%, Atlar calculates an interest rate of 4.75% for that period.

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When to create a custom benchmark rate

Create one when a floating-rate loan uses a benchmark that Atlar does not supply automatically. Common examples include:

• An inter-company loan based on an internal group funding rate
• A loan agreement that references a bespoke lender rate
• A benchmark calculated and maintained by your organization
• A market rate that is not currently available in Atlar

You do not need to create a custom benchmark rate for a supported rate such as SOFR, EURIBOR, or €STR.

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Create a custom benchmark rate

1. Navigate to Debt → Benchmark Rates.
2. Click Create Benchmark rate.
3. Enter the following information:
   • Name — a recognizable name, such as “Group funding rate”
   • Currency — the currency of the loans that will use the rate
   • Tenors — the reset periods the rate supports, such as 1 month or 3 months
   • Calendar — the business-day calendar used when determining fixing dates
   • Default lookback days (optional) — how many business days before the start of an interest period the rate should be observed
4. Click Create.

The rate is now available when configuring a floating-rate facility or loan in the same currency.

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Use the rate on a facility or loan

When creating a facility or loan:

1. Set Rate type to Floating.
2. Open the Index field and select the custom benchmark rate you created.
3. Select the required Tenor.
4. Enter the lender’s Margin and any other applicable terms, such as a floor or cap.
5. When creating a loan, enter the First reset date. This determines when the first fixing is required. Later reset dates follow the selected tenor.
6. Complete the form and click Create.

For a drawdown under a facility, the benchmark rate and tenor are inherited from the facility. You only need to provide the drawdown-specific information, including its first reset date.

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Enter the required rate values

Atlar determines which fixing dates are required from the loan’s first reset date and tenor.

If a required fixing has not been entered, Atlar displays a Missing benchmark fixings notice at the top of Debt → Management. This can happen when:

• You create a new loan and its first fixing is required
• You create a back-dated loan with historical reset dates
• A new interest period begins
• A fixing for an earlier period was not entered

To provide the missing values:

1. Navigate to Debt → Management.
2. Find the Missing benchmark fixings notice.
3. Click Review.
4. Enter the benchmark rate for each listed date.
5. Click Save.

The dates are grouped by benchmark rate and tenor. You can enter one or several values at once; only completed rows are saved.

Atlar identifies missing values for custom benchmark rates. Values for supported system-provided rates are supplied automatically.

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Example

A German entity lends €5 million to a Swedish entity. The agreement uses the organization’s Group funding rate plus a 1.50% margin, resetting every three months.

Set up the rate

Create a custom benchmark rate with:

• Name: Group funding rate
• Currency: EUR
• Tenor: 3 months
• Calendar: The calendar specified in the loan agreement

Set up the loan

Create the loan with:

• Rate type: Floating
• Index: Group funding rate
• Tenor: 3 months
• Margin: 1.50%
• First reset date: 1 January 2026

Enter the fixings

If the benchmark values are:

Enter 3.10%, 3.25%, and 3.40% when Atlar lists those dates as requiring values. Atlar then uses each fixing to calculate interest for the corresponding period.

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View and manage benchmark rates

Navigate to Debt → Benchmark Rates to view all available rates.

Open a benchmark rate to see:

• Benchmark Rate Details — its name, currency, tenors, calendar, and default lookback
• Fixings — the rate values already recorded for it

You can also edit or delete a custom benchmark rate from its table row or details page.

Be careful when changing a rate that is already used by a loan. Changes to the rate definition do not automatically rewrite the terms of existing loans.

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Permissions

Access depends on the permissions assigned to your role:

If you can review missing values but cannot enter them, ask your organization administrator for permission to create benchmark rates and fixings.