An interest rate swap or any similar type of swap which has one of its payment rates or payouts denominated in a currency different from the one (typically the base currency) used to denominate the notional amount. Underlying rates or payouts are calculated against the base currency such that “apples can be compared with apples”.

The cross-rate swap has a variety of names, including: cross-index basis (CRIB) swap, currency coupon swap, rate differential swap, LIBOR-differential swap, interest rate index swap, differential swap, difference swap, currency-protected swap, and so on.