The [APY/%] key is used to compute the A.P.Y. for non-time (no maturity date) accounts such as share and share draft accounts. The term is assumed to be 1 year, and no principal amount is entered. You can calculate the A.P.Y. from a dividend rate using any compounding interval, and you can calculate the dividend rate from the A.P.Y. The [APY/Int] key is used to compute the A.P.Y. for time accounts (with a specified maturity date), such as share certificates. You can use the [APY/Int] routine to compute the A.P.Y. for advertising, lobby signs, and account disclosures (see next question), and to compute the A.P.Y. earned for periodic statements.

How do I compute the A.P.Y. for advertisements, lobby signs, and account disclosures?

There are basically two types of accounts: time accounts with a specified maturity date, and accounts with no maturity date. For those without a maturity date, use the [APY/%] function key which assumes a maturity date of one year. With this routine, you can quickly convert from a dividend rate to the A.P.Y. and from the A.P.Y. to a dividend rate. For time accounts with a known maturity date, use the [APY/Int] function key. When the "PRIN" prompt appears, enter 10,000. The dividend earned and A.P.Y. will be calculated for the term of the deposit. In the advertisement and account disclosure, you don't actually show the principal amount or dividend earned, just the dividend rate and A.P.Y. However, it is necessary to compute an dividend amount in order to calculate the A.P.Y. percentage.

How do I compute the A.P.Y. when a member withdraws the dividend (rather than leaving it on deposit)?

The major consideration here is whether the member is required to withdraw the dividend. If withdrawal is not mandatory, the A.P.Y. is disclosed as if the dividend is left on deposit. If dividend withdrawals are required, the A.P.Y. must show the effect of the dividend withdrawals. In this case, the total dividends paid over the term of the deposit will be less than if the dividends were left on deposit. The [APY/Int] function key is used to make this calculation.

If the dividend rate is not compounded, use the [APY/Int] function key and enter a compounding frequency of 0 to compute the dividend and A.P.Y. Note that, although it is unlikely, it is possible to have an account in which the dividend rate is compounded and dividend withdrawals are required. For example, an account could have a dividend rate compounded daily and require withdrawal of the dividend each month. The difficulty here is computing the actual dividend amount that would be paid over the period of the time account. Once you have that amount, you can use the [APY/Int] function key to compute the A.P.Y. (For our example, you could compute the dividend amount in each month during the term to get the total dividends paid, and then compute the A.P.Y. using the [APY/Int] function key.)

What is the difference between Tiering Method "A" and Method "B"?

Tiering method "A" (sometimes called "banded", "hybrid" or "plateau" accounts) assumes the dividend is paid on the entire deposit amount at the dividend rate in the particular band that the deposit amount falls. For advertising and account disclosures, the A.P.Y. must be disclosed for each band. For non-time accounts, the [APY/%] routine is used for each band. For time accounts, the [APY/Int] routine is used for both the advertising and account disclosures as well as for calculating the A.P.Y. earned (in the case of periodic statements).

Tiering method "B" (also called a "pure" tier account) assumes a dividend rate is paid only on that portion of the deposit within the specified tier. The [Tier] function key is used to calculate a minimum and maximum A.P.Y. for each tier level.

How do I calculate dividends with no compounding?

If dividends are computed without any compounding, i.e., at the maturity date of the account, use the [APY/Int] function key and enter a compounding frequency of 0. For example, a one-year $1000 deposit at a 5% dividend rate would earn a dividend of exactly $50.

If the term of the deposit is exactly one year, the A.P.Y. will be the same as the dividend rate. If the term is less than one year, the A.P.Y. will be slightly higher, and if the term is more than one year, the A.P.Y. will be slightly lower. (See the next question for an explanation of this.)

For time accounts over one year with no compounding, why is the A.P.Y. less than the dividend rate?

The basic formulas in Appendix A of Part 707 use annual compounding. The intent is to provide a uniform measurement system to report the dividends earned, as a percentage, to members. As shown in the above question, a one-year deposit with no compounding will result in a dividend rate equal to the A.P.Y. (In this case, the dividend rate is actually compounded once, at the end of the year.) If the term of the transaction is longer than one year, the dividend is compounded only once, at the end of the term. For a two-year period, the compounding interval is two years. It is common knowledge that if the dividend rate is compounded more often, the amount of the dividend increases. The reverse is also true: if you compound the dividend rate less often, the dividend amount decreases. In our example, compounding the dividend rate once every two years will result in a lower dividend amount than if we compounded the rate annually.

Because Appendix A of Part 707 computes the A.P.Y. based on annual compounding, the A.P.Y. for a two-year deposit will be less than the dividend rate. In order to keep the A.P.Y. the same as the dividend rate, you need to compound the dividend rate annually. This can be done by entering a compounding frequency of 1 in the Truth-in-Savings Compliance Tool.

What is the difference between no compounding and compounding at the end of the term?

There is no difference. The phrase "no compounding" is often used to describe the practice of computing the dividend at the end of the term. For example, if we compute the dividend earned on a 30-day, $5000 share certificate at 5% as

5000 x .05 / 365 x 30

we get $20.55 and an A.P.Y. of 5.1169%. The dividend rate is not compounded during the term of the deposit, thus the phrase "no compounding". If we used daily compounding for this same certificate, the dividend would be $20.59 and the A.P.Y. 5.1271%

How many decimal places should the A.P.Y. percentage be disclosed to?

Appendix A of Part 707 clearly states that the A.P.Y. should be disclosed to two decimal places in all cases except for account disclosures, where more decimal places can be shown if desired. Refer to Section 230.3: General Disclosure Requirements, paragraph (f). The "Fed" has made it clear that it does not want more than two decimal places used except for account disclosures. The Truth-in-Savings Compliance Tool will make calculations to two or four places -- see the Setup Routine Section in the User's Guide to change the precision.

What is the difference between the A.P.Y. and the A.P.Y. Earned?

The A.P.Y. Earned is required for periodic statement disclosures (See Section 230.6). The calculation methods for the A.P.Y. earned were amended by the Fed on March 19, 1993 for certain types of accounts with periodic statements. The A.P.Y. is used for advertising, account disclosures and other accounts.

What is the difference between compounding interval and compounding frequency?

"Compounding interval" is defined to be "the number of days in each compounding period." Thus, for daily compounding, the compounding interval is 1 day. The term "compounding frequency", although not used in the regulation, is commonly used to indicate the number of times the dividend rate is compounded during a year. Thus a compounding interval of 1 day is equivalent to a compounding frequency of 365. (One can use either 365 or 366 in a leap year, however, the difference in A.P.Y. calculations is virtually negligible).

The Truth-in-Savings Compliance Tool uses the term compounding frequency in its routines because the term is more commonly understood.