Euro Area Marginal Lending Rate

The marginal lending facility, which operates throughout the Euro Area, is intended to supply overnight liquidity, indicate the general stance of monetary policy, and, in most cases, set a ceiling on the overnight market rate. It is open to qualifying counterparties who wish to use it on their own initiative, provided that they meet a number of operational access requirements. In order to access overnight liquidity from national central banks against qualified assets, counterparties can take advantage of the marginal loan facility offered by the central banks. The facility does not have any credit limits or other restrictions on counterparties' access to it under normal circumstances, with the exception of a requirement to demonstrate sufficient underlying assets to the facility. The marginal loan facility is operated in a decentralized way by the central banks of several participating countries.