Fluctuation of the ECB interest rate on marginal lending facilities 2008-2024

In June 2024, the European Central Bank (ECB) reduced the interest rate on its marginal lending facility by 0.25 percentage points, marking the first cut since 2016. Three months later, the ECB implemented another cut, setting the rate at 3.9 percent. The marginal lending rate had previously been adjusted on March 16, 2016, when it was lowered from 0.3 percent to 0.25 percent, remaining unchanged until July 2022, when it was raised to 0.75 percent. After September 2022, the rate saw regular increases, reaching 4.75 percent by April 2024.

The marginal lending facility is a monetary policy instrument of the euro system that offers commercial banks the opportunity to procure, against eligible collateral and at a specified interest rate for one business day, liquidity (overnight loans) from the ECB. This permanent facility is intended to meet temporary, very short-term liquidity needs, and normally provides a ceiling for the bank call rate on the money market. The interest rate on the marginal lending facility is thus one of the key rates in the euro system.