Reference rate
Plain definition. A reference rate is a regularly updated, publicly available interest rate, also called a benchmark rate, that serves as a basis for loans, mortgages and other financial contracts.
Technical definition. In the European Central Bank’s explainer, interest rate benchmarks, also known as reference rates, are regularly updated, publicly accessible interest rates, calculated by an independent body, most often to reflect the cost of borrowing money in different markets, such as what banks pay to borrow from each other. Contracts can be priced against one, for example a loan set at a benchmark rate plus 2%, so the loan’s cost rises and falls with the benchmark. They are also used in variable-rate securities, options, forward contracts and swaps, where the benchmark rate may determine at least one of the interest rates being exchanged.
On this site
On this site, Reference rate comes up in Can institutions reliably price XRP for collateral and fund valuation?.
Source
What are benchmark rates? (ecb.europa.eu), read October 1, 2026.