Data through: Nov 5, 2026 · updated Nov 7 · Updates: Daily
WThe three bars show the last 3 weeks for this indicator, oldest left to newest right. Bar height reflects each reading relative to the other two — the tallest is the highest of the three, the shortest the lowest.
Historical context: Currently in the 69th percentile of all historical readings.
What this means right now: The CP rate is within its normal range for the policy-rate environment. The rate alone does not show stress; the spread over T-bills does.
90-Day AA CP Rate (Financial) · Daily · 1997–2026
NBER recessions
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Monthly values
90-Day AA CP Rate (Financial) — the last 12 months
Every month's reading, with the band the heatmap gives it. The chart above shows the same series in full.
Month
Value
Band
Nov 2026
3.97%
Within normal range
Oct 2026
4.38%
Within normal range
Sep 2026
4.07%
Within normal range
Aug 2026
3.83%
Within normal range
Jul 2026
3.88%
Within normal range
Jun 2026
3.93%
Within normal range
Month-end readings of the same series as the chart. Values are the current record, not point-in-time: a month that has since been revised shows its revised value.
What is the CP Rate (3-Month)?
The 90-Day AA Financial Commercial Paper rate (FRED: DCPF3M) measures the interest rate that large, highly-rated (AA) financial institutions pay to borrow money for 90 days via commercial paper. Commercial paper is a short-term, unsecured promissory note — essentially an IOU issued by corporations and financial firms to fund their day-to-day operations.
Financial commercial paper is a critical funding instrument for banks, broker-dealers, money market funds, and other financial intermediaries. When this market functions normally, large firms can borrow short-term at rates close to the risk-free Treasury rate. When stress hits — as it did during the 2008 crisis — the CP market can seize up entirely, threatening the funding of financial firms that depend on daily rollovers.
This page shows the rate itself, which mostly tracks the Fed funds rate. A high CP rate when policy rates are high is not a sign of stress. The stress measure is the spread over T-bills, on its own page, and this rate is the input to it.
How We Color-Code the CP Rate (3-Month)
Our heatmap colors this indicator against historically significant thresholds:
5.50% or below
Normal range — the rate reflects the policy-rate environment, not funding stress
Above 5.50%
Historically elevated — above 5.50% on 519 days since 1997: 506 in 1997–2001 and 13 since 2023, none in the 2007–08 funding crisis; rate alone does not confirm stress without checking the CP-Tbill spread
Historical Extremes — What Happened Next?
When this indicator reaches extreme levels, history shows consistent patterns:
Sep 6, 20072007–08 Funding Crisis Onset
5.48%
The CP rate itself barely moved as the subprime crisis reached money markets: 5.23% in late August, 5.48% on September 6. Meanwhile the spread over T-bills went from 0.4 to 2.2 points in a month as investors fled into bills.
Apr 28, 2021ZIRP Era Trough
0.04%
The series' floor under the Fed's zero-rate policy, reached in May 2020 and again in April 2021. Financial firms could fund at effectively zero cost.
Jul 19, 2023Post-Hike Cycle Peak
5.54%
The rate rose with the Fed's hiking cycle to its highest since January 2001. The spread over T-bills stayed under half a point all year, so this was a policy-driven rise, not funding stress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this cell mostly show neutral?
Because the rate itself mostly tracks the Fed funds rate. A CP rate of 5% when the policy rate is 5.25–5.5% is normal. The stress measure is the spread over T-bills, the premium financial firms pay above the risk-free rate, which has its own page.
What is commercial paper and why does it matter?
Commercial paper is short-term, unsecured debt, issued for a few days up to 270 days. Financial firms roll it over daily or weekly to fund longer-term assets, and because it is unsecured, investors demand more when they doubt the issuer. In October 2008 the spread over T-bills reached 3.73 points, its record since 1997, and the Fed created the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) that month to backstop the market.
What happened to CP markets in 2008?
After Lehman Brothers failed in September 2008, a large money market fund, the Reserve Primary Fund, broke the buck, and a run on money funds followed. Without money-fund buyers, financial firms could not roll over their paper. The Fed's Commercial Paper Funding Facility, announced October 7, 2008, backstopped the market, but the stress did not clear quickly: the spread over T-bills was still 2 points at the end of January 2009. The premium on financial over industrial paper did not settle until May 2009, seven months on.
What is the difference between financial and non-financial CP?
Financial CP (DCPF3M) is issued by banks, broker-dealers, insurers and other financial firms; non-financial CP by large industrial and consumer companies. Both markets seized in 2008, and financial paper was the more acute problem: its premium over industrial paper reached 2.00 points in October 2008.