Nominal and Real Interest Rates. The nominal interest rate is the stated interest rate. If a bank pays 5% annually on a savings account, then 5% is the nominal interest rate. So if you deposit $100 for 1 year, you will receive $5 in interest. However, that $5 will probably be worth less at the end of the year than it would have been at the nominal interest rate = 8 + 3.3, which = 11.3% . If you want a real rate of return of 8%, you should charge a nominal interest rate of 11.3% because of an expected annual inflation rate of 3.3% where "rate" is the named range H4.. How this formula works The Effective Annual Rate (EAR) is the interest rate after factoring in compounding. In other words, the EAR is the rate actually earned due to the effect of compounding more frequently than once a year (annually).. The EFFECT function calculates the effective annual interest rate based on the nominal annual interest rate, and the