Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the AFP Exam with confidence! Tackle exam questions and enhance your skills with detailed hints and explanations. Ace your exam and advance your financial career!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.


In what analysis do U.S. banks use a rate to impute interest on DDA balances?

  1. Reserve requirement

  2. Earnings credit rate

  3. Availability delay

  4. Account maintenance fee

The correct answer is: Earnings credit rate

The earnings credit rate is the correct choice because it represents the interest rate that banks apply to a company's demand deposit account (DDA) balances to calculate the earnings credit. This earnings credit can then be used to offset service fees incurred by the account. The rate is typically determined by the bank and can be influenced by various factors, including market interest rates, the amounts maintained in the DDA, and the bank’s pricing structure. The earnings credit effectively allows businesses to earn interest on their deposited balances, which is particularly beneficial for those maintaining substantial balances. This credit can help mitigate the costs associated with various banking services and encourage companies to keep higher balances in their accounts. In contrast, the reserve requirement relates to the minimum amount of reserves a bank must hold against deposits, not directly tied to the interest imputed on DDA balances. The availability delay refers to the time it takes for deposited funds to become available for use, unrelated to interest calculations. The account maintenance fee is a charge that banks may impose for account upkeep, not directly associated with interest imputations like the earnings credit rate.