Let Gn(x) be the distribution function of the maximum of the successive partial sums of independent and identically distributed random variables and G(x) its limiting distribution function. Under conditions, typical for complete exponential convergence, the decay of Gn(x) — G(x) is asymptotically equal to c.H(x)n−3/2γn as n → ∞ where c and γ are known constants and H(x) is a function solely depending on x.