Quote from KS96:
IB should state the interest credited/debited per day
and per currency in the *daily* statements,
so we can all check what is really going on.
I paid too much in interest charges at IB,
and I wasn't able to tell why
or do at least a simple check if that was done correctly....
Also, can someone at IB let us know the *exact* time
that the interest is calculated?
(The answer "between 16:00 and 19:00 ET" isn't satisfactory,
since many of us trade forex at that time.)
This will help to reduce our short positions
in high-yield currencies before that time
so we minimize the charges.
Interest is calculated daily and accrued. We post the amount to the statements when the accrual hits 50 usd. This is a (hopepfully) temporary limitation caused by the time it takes to post interest in 8 currencies to thousands of accounts which slows down statement delivery. When we get that solved, we will post daily accrual entries. An enhanced monthly summary with daily data is also in the pipeline.
Our calculation method is explained in great, even excruciating, detail on our website.
http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/interestMethods.php?ib_entity=llc
The method conforms to industry standards for day counting and holiday treatment and our spreads are better than the brokers I know of. If someone offers better for large accounts (>250K), please PM me and I will see if we are misunderstanding the inducsty. It is our goal to make our interest model fully transparent and competitive.
The end of the forex clearing day is 1700 EST. Cash balances for interest are determined after that. Please note however that we calculate interest on
settled balances, not trade date balances so trades done on monday settle on wednesday and are counted, but trades done on tuesday or wed are not counted in wednedsay night's interest. Lastly, please note the holiday rules for FX: settlements that fall on a holiday in either currency push settlement out a day.
If you send a specific question about interest in a web trouble ticket (via acct management), choose categories properly, our customer service group can explain the calculations that were applied to your account precisely. I am quite sure the interest charges are not excessive, especially for larger accounts. If you have a 12K account, then yes, your interest returns are uninteresting.