What is the prime rate, and does the Federal Reserve set the prime rate? The prime rate is an interest rate determined by individual banks. It is often used as a reference rate (also called the base rate) for many types of loans, including loans to small businesses and credit card loans. Bankrate.com displays the wall street prime rate, federal funds dicount rate, and COFI rates for consumers. It is in turn based on the federal funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve The interest rate targeted by the Federal Reserve, the range of the federal funds rate, is currently 1.0% to 1.25%. That’s after the Fed cut it half of a percentage point on March 3, 2020. It was the first rate cut in 2020 and came in response to the threat posed to the economy by the coronavirus .