Key Eurosystem interest rates

Official rates on Eurosystem operations

The official interest rates on Eurosystem operations are set by the Governing Council of the ECB. These comprise the interest rates on:

• the deposit facility,
• the main refinancing operations,
• the marginal lending facility.

The interest rate on the main refinancing operations applies to open market operations, which are activated by the central bank, through which banks can borrow central bank's reserves against eligible collateral on a weekly basis.

The other two rates are on operations that can be conducted at the request of the counterparties. As a rule they provide a ceiling and floor for the overnight interest rates at which banks lend to each other and this creates a corridor for money market rates.

Interest rates on the minimum reserve

Since 20 September 2023, the minimum reserve is not remunerated anymore (i.e. it earns interest at a rate equal to 0%). Previously, from 21 December 2022 to 19 September 2023, it earned interest at the average of the deposit facility rate during the maintenance period, weighted according to the number of calendar days. Before that period, it earned interest at the average of the marginal allotment rate in the main refinancing operations (Data on the interest rates concerning the minimum reserve).