What is the wall street journal prime rate?

What it means: The initials stand for The Wall Street Journal, which surveys large banks and publishes the consensus prime rate. The Journal surveys the 30 largest banks, and when three-quarters of them (23) change, the Journal changes its rate, effective on the day the Journal publishes the new rate. read more

The prime rate, as reported by The Wall Street Journal's bank survey, is among the most widely used benchmark in setting home equity lines of credit and credit card rates. It is in turn based on the federal funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve. read more

The Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (WSJ Prime Rate) is a measure of the U.S. prime rate, defined by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as "The base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks.". It is not the "best" rate offered by banks. read more