Remuneration of excess reserves and balances of bank's reserve accounts

Credit institutions' reserve holdings exceeding the required minimum reserve level are remunerated at either the deposit facility rate or at 0 per cent, whichever is lower. Therefore, from June 2014 a negative remuneration was applied to excess reserve holdings as long as the deposit facility rate remained in negative territory.

In addition, a two-tier system for reserve remuneration had been introduced from 30 October 2019, exempting part of banks' excess liquidity holdings, calculated as a multiple of banks' minimum reserve requirements, from the negative deposit facility rate.

Following the ECB Governing Council decision on 8 September 2022 to suspend the two-tier system for the remuneration of excess reserves with the return of the deposit facility rate into positive territory, data publication on Bank of Italy's website was halted. Further information on the two-tier system can be found on the ECB web site.

Information on the average balances of bank's reserve accounts holdings over one reserve maintenance period continues to be published daily.