The rate (repo rate) which results from a cash/ futures arbitrage. More specifically, it is the rate of return that an investor can earn by simultaneously selling a bond futures contract or bond forward contract and buying the underlying bond of equal amount using borrowed money. Thereafter, the investor holds the bond until settlement date and then repays the borrowed money with accrued interest.

The implied repo rate can also be earned in another type of cash-and-carry trades, such as when an investor buys a stock portfolio and sells a stock index futures contract. The expected return on this trade (dividends plus futures basis) is expressed as a money market rate using an actual/360 money market day-count convention.