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first, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50% respectively. the governing council expects the key ecb interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it has seen the inflation outlook robustly converge to a level sufficiently close to, but below, 2% within its projection horizon, and such convergence has been consistently reflected in underlying inflation dynamics.
second, the governing council will continue the purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (pepp) with a total envelope of €1,850 billion. the governing council will conduct net asset purchases under the pepp until at least the end of march 2022 and, in any case, until it judges that the coronavirus crisis phase is over. the purchases under the pepp will be conducted to preserve favourable financing conditions over the pandemic period. if favourable financing conditions can be maintained with asset purchase flows that do not exhaust the envelope over the net purchase horizon of the pepp, the envelope need not be used in full. equally, the envelope can be recalibrated if required to maintain favourable financing conditions to help counter the negative pandemic shock to the path of inflation.
third, net purchases under the asset purchase programme (app) will continue at a monthly pace of €20 billion. the governing council continues to expect monthly net asset purchases under the app to run for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates, and to end shortly before it starts raising the key ecb interest rates.
finally, the governing council will continue to provide ample liquidity through its refinancing operations. in particular, the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (tltro iii) remains an attractive source of funding for banks, supporting bank lending to firms and households.
the governing council continues to stand ready to adjust all of its instruments, as appropriate, to ensure that inflation moves towards its aim in a sustained manner, in line with its commitment to symmetry.
at today's meeting (which was also attended by the president of the european commission, mr. r. prodi) the governing council of the ecb took the following monetary policy decisions:
the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be raised by 0.25 percentage point to 3.5%, starting from the operation to be settled on 22 march 2000.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be raised by 0.25 percentage point to 4.5%, with effect from 17 march 2000.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be raised by 0.25 percentage point to 2.5%, with effect from 17 march 2000.
following the regular examination of the outlook for price developments in the euro area on the basis of the latest information on monetary, financial and other economic developments, the governing council confirmed the assessment which was presented by the president of the ecb in his introductory statement at the press conference after the governing council meeting on 2 march 2000, as well as in the following issue of the ecb monthly bulletin. as noted there, economic conditions and prospects for the euro area appear to be better at present than at any time in the past decade. at the same time, upside risks to price stability were seen as a reason for vigilance. today's decision addresses these upside risks, thereby contributing to maintaining the favourable outlook for the euro area economy.
with regard to the first pillar of the monetary policy strategy of the eurosystem, the prolonged deviation of m3 growth from the reference value of 4 1/2% points to the existence of ample liquidity in the euro area, especially when seen in conjunction with the continued strong growth of credit granted to the private sector.
considering the second pillar, most indicators and forecasts point to increasing upward pressures on consumer price inflation over the medium term. the strong rise in oil prices and the downward movement of the exchange rate of the euro in the past are putting upward pressure on import costs and producer prices. in the context of a strong cyclical upswing, there is a risk that these developments could, via second round effects, have lasting effects on consumer price inflation.
today's increase in ecb interest rates follows the interest rate decisions taken on 4 november 1999 and 3 february 2000 and continues the policy of countering these emerging upside risks to price stability in a timely and pre-emptive manner. by ensuring a non-inflationary environment, this move will contribute to ensuring sustainable economic growth in the euro area.
at today's meeting, the governing council of the ecb took the following decisions:
the interest rates on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 2.5%, 3.5% and 1.5%, respectively.
for the longer-term refinancing operations to be settled during the next six months, the intention is to allot an unchanged amount of eur 15 billion per operation.
following the terrorist attacks on the us, uncertainty about the us and the world economy has increased. the federal open market committee has reacted by lowering its target for the federal funds rate today. in concert with this decision, the governing council of the ecb met today by means of teleconferencing and took the following monetary policy decisions:
the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be reduced by 0.50 percentage point to 3.75%. differently from what was communicated in an announcement at 3.30 p.m. today, this change in the minimum bid rate will be effective starting from tomorrow's operation, which is to be settled on 19 september 2001. a new announcement with the revised rates is also being transmitted through wire services.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be reduced by 0.50 percentage point to 4.75%, with effect from 18 september 2001.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be reduced by 0.50 percentage point to 2.75%, with effect from 18 september 2001.
in the view of the governing council, the recent events in the us are likely to weigh adversely on confidence in the euro area, reducing the short-term outlook for domestic growth. as this is likely to further reduce inflationary risks in the euro area, a lowering of the ecb's key interest rates is appropriate. the governing council has confidence in the fundamental strength and resilience of the us economic system. against the background of the sound fundamentals of the euro area, the governing council remains confident that the slowdown in economic growth will be short-lived.
inflation continues to decline but is still expected to remain too high for too long. the governing council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% medium-term target in a timely manner. in order to reinforce progress towards its target, the governing council today decided to raise the three key ecb interest rates by 25 basis points.
the rate increase today reflects the governing council’s assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission. the september ecb staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area see average inflation at 5.6% in 2023, 3.2% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025. this is an upward revision for 2023 and 2024 and a downward revision for 2025. the upward revision for 2023 and 2024 mainly reflects a higher path for energy prices. underlying price pressures remain high, even though most indicators have started to ease. ecb staff have slightly revised down the projected path for inflation excluding energy and food, to an average of 5.1% in 2023, 2.9% in 2024 and 2.2% in 2025. the governing council’s past interest rate increases continue to be transmitted forcefully. financing conditions have tightened further and are increasingly dampening demand, which is an important factor in bringing inflation back to target. with the increasing impact of this tightening on domestic demand and the weakening international trade environment, ecb staff have lowered their economic growth projections significantly. they now expect the euro area economy to expand by 0.7% in 2023, 1.0% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025.
based on its current assessment, the governing council considers that the key ecb interest rates have reached levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to the timely return of inflation to the target. the governing council’s future decisions will ensure that the key ecb interest rates will be set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary. the governing council will continue to follow a data-dependent approach to determining the appropriate level and duration of restriction. in particular, the governing council’s interest rate decisions will be based on its assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission.
the governing council decided to raise the three key ecb interest rates by 25 basis points. accordingly, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will be increased to 4.50%, 4.75% and 4.00% respectively, with effect from 20 september 2023.
the app portfolio is declining at a measured and predictable pace, as the eurosystem no longer reinvests the principal payments from maturing securities.
as banks are repaying the amounts borrowed under the targeted longer-term refinancing operations, the governing council will regularly assess how targeted lending operations and their ongoing repayment are contributing to its monetary policy stance.
the governing council stands ready to adjust all of its instruments within its mandate to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% target over the medium term and to preserve the smooth functioning of monetary policy transmission. moreover, the transmission protection instrument is available to counter unwarranted, disorderly market dynamics that pose a serious threat to the transmission of monetary policy across all euro area countries, thus allowing the governing council to more effectively deliver on its price stability mandate.
the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be raised by 0.5 percentage point to 3%, with effect from the operation to be settled on 10 november 1999.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be raised by 0.5 percentage point to 4%, with effect from 5 november 1999.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be raised by 0.5 percentage point to 2%, with effect from 5 november 1999.
at today's meeting the governing council reviewed the latest monetary, financial and economic developments. taking into account all the information available, the governing council confirmed its earlier assessment of the outlook for price stability. against this background it decided that for the main refinancing operations to be settled on 10 and 17 march 1999 the same conditions will apply as for the previous ones, i.e. they will be conducted as fixed rate tenders at an interest rate of 3.0%. in addition, the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will continue to be 4.5% and the interest rate on the deposit facility will remain 2.0%.
the governing council also decided today that for forthcoming longer-term refinancing operations of the eurosystem the multiple rate method of allotment will be applied starting from the next such operation (which is to be settled on 25 march 1999) until otherwise indicated.
today, in line with the governing council’s strong commitment to its price stability mandate, the governing council took further key steps to make sure inflation returns to its 2% target over the medium term. the governing council decided to raise the three key ecb interest rates by 50 basis points and approved the transmission protection instrument (tpi).
the governing council judged that it is appropriate to take a larger first step on its policy rate normalisation path than signalled at its previous meeting. this decision is based on the governing council’s updated assessment of inflation risks and the reinforced support provided by the tpi for the effective transmission of monetary policy. it will support the return of inflation to the governing council’s medium-term target by strengthening the anchoring of inflation expectations and by ensuring that demand conditions adjust to deliver its inflation target in the medium term.
at the governing council’s upcoming meetings, further normalisation of interest rates will be appropriate. the frontloading today of the exit from negative interest rates allows the governing council to make a transition to a meeting-by-meeting approach to interest rate decisions. the governing council’s future policy rate path will continue to be data-dependent and will help to deliver on its 2% inflation target over the medium term. in the context of its policy normalisation, the governing council will evaluate options for remunerating excess liquidity holdings.
the governing council assessed that the establishment of the tpi is necessary to support the effective transmission of monetary policy. in particular, as the governing council continues normalising monetary policy, the tpi will ensure that the monetary policy stance is transmitted smoothly across all euro area countries. the singleness of the governing council’s monetary policy is a precondition for the ecb to be able to deliver on its price stability mandate.
the tpi will be an addition to the governing council’s toolkit and can be activated to counter unwarranted, disorderly market dynamics that pose a serious threat to the transmission of monetary policy across the euro area. the scale of tpi purchases depends on the severity of the risks facing policy transmission. purchases are not restricted ex ante. by safeguarding the transmission mechanism, the tpi will allow the governing council to more effectively deliver on its price stability mandate.
in any event, the flexibility in reinvestments of redemptions coming due in the pandemic emergency purchase programme (pepp) portfolio remains the first line of defence to counter risks to the transmission mechanism related to the pandemic.
the details of the tpi are described in a separate press release to be published at 15:45 cet.
the governing council decided to raise the three key ecb interest rates by 50 basis points. accordingly, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will be increased to 0.50%, 0.75% and 0.00% respectively, with effect from 27 july 2022.
at the governing council’s upcoming meetings, further normalisation of interest rates will be appropriate. the frontloading today of the exit from negative interest rates allows the governing council to make a transition to a meeting-by-meeting approach to interest rate decisions. the governing council’s future policy rate path will continue to be data-dependent and will help to deliver on its 2% inflation target over the medium term.
the governing council intends to continue reinvesting, in full, the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the app for an extended period of time past the date when it starts raising the key ecb interest rates and, in any case, for as long as necessary to maintain ample liquidity conditions and an appropriate monetary policy stance.
redemptions coming due in the pepp portfolio are being reinvested flexibly, with a view to countering risks to the transmission mechanism related to the pandemic.
the governing council will continue to monitor bank funding conditions and ensure that the maturing of operations under the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (tltro iii) does not hamper the smooth transmission of its monetary policy. the governing council will also regularly assess how targeted lending operations are contributing to its monetary policy stance.
the governing council stands ready to adjust all of its instruments within its mandate to ensure that inflation stabilises at its 2% target over the medium term. the governing council’s new tpi will safeguard the smooth transmission of its monetary policy stance throughout the euro area.
at today’s meeting the governing council of the ecb decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 4.00%, 5.00% and 3.00% respectively.
the president of the ecb will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 2.30 p.m. (cet) today.
(1) the conditions on the targeted longer-term refinancing operations (tltro iii) have been further eased. specifically, the governing council decided to reduce the interest rate on tltro iii operations during the period from june 2020 to june 2021 to 50 basis points below the average interest rate on the eurosystem’s main refinancing operations prevailing over the same period. moreover, for counterparties whose eligible net lending reaches the lending performance threshold, the interest rate over the period from june 2020 to june 2021 will now be 50 basis points below the average deposit facility rate prevailing over the same period.
(2) a new series of non-targeted pandemic emergency longer-term refinancing operations (peltros) will be conducted to support liquidity conditions in the euro area financial system and contribute to preserving the smooth functioning of money markets by providing an effective liquidity backstop. the peltros consist of seven additional refinancing operations commencing in may 2020 and maturing in a staggered sequence between july and september 2021 in line with the duration of the collateral easing measures. they will be carried out as fixed rate tender procedures with full allotment, with an interest rate that is 25 basis points below the average rate on the main refinancing operations prevailing over the life of each peltro.
(3) since the end of march, purchases have been conducted under the governing council’s new pandemic emergency purchase programme (pepp), which has an overall envelope of €750 billion, to ease the overall monetary policy stance and to counter the severe risks to the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the outlook for the euro area posed by the coronavirus pandemic. these purchases will continue to be conducted in a flexible manner over time, across asset classes and among jurisdictions. the governing council will conduct net asset purchases under the pepp until it judges that the coronavirus crisis phase is over, but in any case until the end of this year.
(4) moreover, net purchases under the asset purchase programme (app) will continue at a monthly pace of €20 billion, together with the purchases under the additional €120 billion temporary envelope until the end of the year. the governing council continues to expect monthly net asset purchases under the app to run for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates, and to end shortly before it starts raising the key ecb interest rates.
(5) reinvestments of the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the app will continue, in full, for an extended period of time past the date when the governing council starts raising the key ecb interest rates, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation.
(6) the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50% respectively. the governing council expects the key ecb interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it has seen the inflation outlook robustly converge to a level sufficiently close to, but below, 2% within its projection horizon, and such convergence has been consistently reflected in underlying inflation dynamics.
the governing council is fully prepared to increase the size of the pepp and adjust its composition, by as much as necessary and for as long as needed. in any case, it stands ready to adjust all of its instruments, as appropriate, to ensure that inflation moves towards its aim in a sustained manner, in line with its commitment to symmetry.
further details on the amendments made to the terms of tltro iii and on the new peltros will be published in dedicated press releases this afternoon at 15:30 cet.
the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations will be reduced by 0.50 percentage point to 2.75%, starting from the operation to be settled on 11 december 2002.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be reduced by 0.50 percentage point to 3.75%, with effect from 6 december 2002.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be reduced by 0.50 percentage point to 1.75%, with effect from 6 december 2002.
at today’s meeting the governing council of the ecb decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. the governing council continues to expect the key ecb interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases.
regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the governing council confirms that the net asset purchases, at the new monthly pace of €60 billion, are intended to run until the end of december 2017, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the governing council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim. the net purchases will be made alongside reinvestments of the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the asset purchase programme. if the outlook becomes less favourable, or if financial conditions become inconsistent with further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, the governing council stands ready to increase the programme in terms of size and/or duration.
regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the governing council confirms that from january 2018 it intends to continue to make net asset purchases under the asset purchase programme (app), at a monthly pace of €30 billion, until the end of september 2018, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the governing council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim. if the outlook becomes less favourable, or if financial conditions become inconsistent with further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, the governing council stands ready to increase the app in terms of size and/or duration. the eurosystem will reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the app for an extended period of time after the end of its net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary. this will contribute both to favourable liquidity conditions and to an appropriate monetary policy stance.
(2) the governing council will continue its purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (pepp) with a total envelope of €1,350 billion. these purchases contribute to easing the overall monetary policy stance, thereby helping to offset the pandemic-related downward shift in the projected path of inflation. the purchases will continue to be conducted in a flexible manner over time, across asset classes and among jurisdictions. this allows the governing council to effectively stave off risks to the smooth transmission of monetary policy. the governing council will conduct net asset purchases under the pepp until at least the end of june 2021 and, in any case, until it judges that the coronavirus crisis phase is over. the governing council will reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the pepp until at least the end of 2022. in any case, the future roll-off of the pepp portfolio will be managed to avoid interference with the appropriate monetary policy stance.
(4) the governing council will also continue to provide ample liquidity through its refinancing operations. in particular, the latest operation in the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (tltro iii) has registered a very high take-up of funds, supporting bank lending to firms and households.
the governing council today decided to keep the three key ecb interest rates unchanged. since the last governing council meeting in january, inflation has declined further. in the latest ecb staff projections, inflation has been revised down, in particular for 2024 which mainly reflects a lower contribution from energy prices. staff now project inflation to average 2.3% in 2024, 2.0% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026. the projections for inflation excluding energy and food have also been revised down and average 2.6% for 2024, 2.1% for 2025 and 2.0% for 2026. although most measures of underlying inflation have eased further, domestic price pressures remain high, in part owing to strong growth in wages. financing conditions are restrictive and the past interest rate increases continue to weigh on demand, which is helping push down inflation. staff have revised down their growth projection for 2024 to 0.6%, with economic activity expected to remain subdued in the near term. thereafter, staff expect the economy to pick up and to grow at 1.5% in 2025 and 1.6% in 2026, supported initially by consumption and later also by investment.
the governing council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% medium-term target in a timely manner. based on its current assessment, the governing council considers that the key ecb interest rates are at levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to this goal. the governing council’s future decisions will ensure that policy rates will be set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary.
the governing council intends to continue to reinvest, in full, the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the pepp during the first half of 2024. over the second half of the year, it intends to reduce the pepp portfolio by €7.5 billion per month on average. the governing council intends to discontinue reinvestments under the pepp at the end of 2024.
at today’s meeting, the governing council of the ecb took the following monetary policy decisions:
the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be increased by 25 basis points to 3.0%, starting from the operation to be settled on 9 august 2006.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be increased by 25 basis points to 4.0%, with effect from 9 august 2006.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be increased by 25 basis points to 2.0%, with effect from 9 august 2006.
regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the governing council confirms that the net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of €60 billion, are intended to run until the end of december 2017, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the governing council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim. the net purchases are made alongside reinvestments of the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the asset purchase programme. if the outlook becomes less favourable, or if financial conditions become inconsistent with further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, the governing council stands ready to increase the programme in terms of size and/or duration.
at today's meeting the governing council of the ecb decided that the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 5.25% and 3.25% respectively.
as announced on 8 june 2000, the forthcoming main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be conducted as variable rate tenders, applying the multiple rate auction procedure, with a minimum bid rate of 4.25%. this rate is the same as that which prevailed for the two fixed rate tender operations settled on 15 and 21 june 2000.
the governing council also decided that, for the longer-term refinancing operations to be conducted in the second half of 2000, the eurosystem intends to allot an amount of eur 15 billion per operation. this amount takes into consideration the expected liquidity needs of the banking system of the euro area in the second half of 2000 and the desire of the eurosystem to continue to provide the bulk of its refinancing of the financial sector through its main refinancing operations.
the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be decreased by 50 basis points to 1.50%, starting from the operation to be settled on 11 march 2009.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be decreased by 50 basis points to 2.50%, with effect from 11 march 2009.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be decreased by 50 basis points to 0.50%, with effect from 11 march 2009.
at today’s meeting, which was held in bratislava, the governing council of the ecb took the following monetary policy decisions:
the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be decreased by 25 basis points to 0.50%, starting from the operation to be settled on 8 may 2013.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be decreased by 50 basis points to 1.00%, with effect from 8 may 2013.
the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be increased by 0.25 percentage point to 2.25%, starting from the operation to be settled on 6 december 2005.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be increased by 0.25 percentage point to 3.25%, with effect from 6 december 2005.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be increased by 0.25 percentage point to 1.25%, with effect from 6 december 2005.
at today's meeting the governing council of the ecb took the following decisions:
the interest rates on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 2.5%, 3.5% and 1.5% respectively.
for the longer-term refinancing operations to be settled on 28 october 1999, 25 november 1999 and 23 december 1999, the intention is to allot an amount of eur 25 billion per operation. this amount is higher than the amount of eur 15 billion allotted for all previous longer-term refinancing operations conducted in 1999. this decision takes into account the intention of the ecb to contribute to a smooth transition to the year 2000.
the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be decreased by 25 basis points to 1.00%, starting from the operation to be settled on 14 december 2011.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be decreased by 25 basis points to 1.75%, with effect from 14 december 2011.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be decreased by 25 basis points to 0.25%, with effect from 14 december 2011.
the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be increased by 25 basis points to 4.25%, starting from the operation to be settled on 9 july 2008.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be increased by 25 basis points to 5.25%, with effect from 9 july 2008.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be increased by 25 basis points to 3.25%, with effect from 9 july 2008.
the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be raised by 0.50 percentage point to 4.25% and applied in the two operations (which will be conducted as fixed rate tenders) to be settled on 15 and 21 june 2000.
the interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be raised by 0.50 percentage point to 5.25% with effect from 9 june 2000.
the interest rate on the deposit facility will be raised by 0.50 percentage point to 3.25%, with effect from 9 june 2000.
starting from the operation to be settled on 28 june 2000, the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem will be conducted as variable rate tenders, applying the multiple rate auction procedure. the governing council has decided to set a minimum bid rate for these operations equal to 4.25%. this is the same rate as that which will prevail for the two fixed rate tenders to be implemented following today's decision.
the switch to variable rate tenders in the main refinancing operations is not intended as a further change in the monetary policy stance of the eurosystem. the new tender mechanism is a response to the severe overbidding which has developed in the context of the current fixed rate tender procedure. for the purpose of signalling the monetary policy stance, the minimum bid rate is designed to play the role performed, until now, by the rate in fixed rate tenders. this change does not in any way rule out the option that, in the future, the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem may be conducted in principle as fixed rate tenders.
the time available until implementation of the new tender procedure as from the first main refinancing operation of the maintenance period starting on 24 june 2000 will help counterparties to prepare for the change.
in accordance with article 8 of the regulation (ec) no. 2818/98 of the european central bank of 1 december 1998 on the application of minimum reserves (ecb/1998/15), the marginal interest rate of the main refinancing operation is used to calculate the remuneration of required reserves.