Because an interest rate swap is just a series of cash flows occurring at known future dates, it can be valued by sim ply summing the present value of each of these cash flows. In order to calculate the present value of each cash flow, it is necessary to first estimate the correct discount factor (df) for each period (t) on which a cash flow occurs. Dis count factors are derived from investors’ perceptions of in terest rates in the future and are calculated using forward rates such as LIBOR. The following formula calculates a theoretical rate (known as the “Swap Rate”) for.
