A basis point (often enoted as bp, bps -basis points- or ‱; rarely, permyriad) is a unit that is equal to 1/100th of a percentage point. It is frequently used to express percentage point changes less than 1. It avoids the ambiguity between relative and absolute discussions about rates. For example, a "1% increase" in a 10% interest rate could mean an increase from 10% to 10.1%, or from 10% to 11%.