Extension of the pandemic-related low interest rate period, the addition of three more operations and the increase in the amount that can potentially be borrowed under TLTRO III will preserve the very attractive funding conditions that over the past few months have supported banks’ efforts to keep credit flowing to the real economy in a time of high stress. This will help banks to secure the liquidity they need to extend loans to households and firms on very favourable lending terms. The interest rate on all outstanding TLTRO III operations will remain 50 basis points below the average rate applied in the Euro system’s main refinancing operations over the same period. The interest rate on the main refinancing operations is currently 0%. For counterparties whose eligible net lending between 1 October 2020 and 31 December 2021 reaches the lending performance threshold, the interest rate applied on all TLTRO III operations outstanding over the period from 24 June 2021 to 23 June 2022 will be 50 basis points below the average interest rate on the deposit facility prevailing over the same period, and in any case not higher than -1%. The deposit facility rate is currently -0.5%.
Three new TLTRO III operations with a maturity of three years will be allotted in June, September and December 2021. These new operations will ensure that counterparties can flexibly benefit from the prolonged support. Participants in the operations announced today will, on a quarterly basis starting in June 2022, have the option of withdrawing from or reducing the amount borrowed in the new TLTRO III operations, before maturity. These changes to the terms and conditions of TLTRO III will apply to all TLTRO III operations and will be implemented via a fourth amendment to the Decision of the ECB of 22 July 2019 on a third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (ECB/2019/21), as amended by the Decisions of the ECB of 12 September 2019 (ECB/2019/28), 16 March 2020 (ECB/2020/13) and 30 April 2020 (ECB/2020/25).