What is discount factor?


1 Answer(s)


The interest rate charged to commercial banks and other depository institutions for loans received from the Federal Reserve Bank’s discount window. The discount rate also refers to the interest rate used in discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis to determine the present value of future cash flows. The discount rate in DCF analysis takes into account not just the time value of money, but also the risk or uncertainty of future cash flows; the greater the uncertainty of future cash flows, the higher the discount rate. A third meaning of the term “discount rate” is the rate used by pension plans and insurance companies for discounting their liabilities.