ECB Dataset · Interest Rates

ECB Deposit Facility Rate (1999–2026)

Name: ECB Deposit Facility Rate (1999–2026)
Creator: Eco3min Research
Published: 2026-03-23
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The floor of the ECB’s interest rate corridor — and since September 2023, the primary operational policy rate for the euro area. Every rate decision by the Governing Council starts here.

Source

ECB

Frequency

Event-based

Observations

Range

−0.50% to 4.00%

Coverage

Jan 1999–Present

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Python Code ↓
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What is the Deposit Facility Rate?

The Deposit Facility Rate (DFR) is the interest rate at which euro area banks can make overnight deposits with the Eurosystem. It serves as the floor of the ECB’s interest rate corridor, below which money market rates cannot fall in normal conditions.

In September 2023, the ECB announced a fundamental change to its operational framework: the DFR replaced the Main Refinancing Operations rate (MRO) as the primary signal of the monetary policy stance. This reflected the reality of persistent excess liquidity in the banking system — with trillions of euros parked at the ECB, the deposit rate, not the lending rate, is what actually anchors overnight money market rates.

Historical regimes

The dataset captures 67 rate changes across four distinct monetary regimes. From 1999 to 2008, the DFR ranged between 1% and 3.25%, tracking conventional business cycles. The Global Financial Crisis triggered aggressive cuts from 3.25% (October 2008) to 0.25% (April 2009). From June 2014 to July 2022, the DFR was in negative territory — reaching −0.50% — an eight-year experiment in sub-zero policy without historical precedent. The 2022–2023 tightening cycle was the fastest in ECB history, bringing the rate from −0.50% to 4.00% in 14 months.

As of mid-2025, the ECB began easing again, cutting the DFR to 2.00% by June 2025 as euro area inflation approached the 2% target. This dataset records every change at the exact date it takes effect.

DFR vs MRO vs Marginal Lending Rate

The three ECB key rates form a corridor: the DFR (floor), the MRO (middle), and the Marginal Lending Facility (ceiling). Since September 2024, the corridor width is DFR + 15 bps (MRO) and DFR + 40 bps (MLF), narrowed from the previous 50/75 bps spread to reduce interest rate volatility as excess liquidity declines.

CSV Data Dictionary

Column	Type	Description
date	YYYY-MM-DD	Date of rate change (effective date)
deposit_facility_rate	float	ECB Deposit Facility Rate (% per annum)

Python & R Code Examples

import pandas as pd
from io import StringIO
import requests

url = "https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/FM/B.U2.EUR.4F.KR.DFR.LEV"
resp = requests.get(url, params={"format": "csvdata"})
df = pd.read_csv(StringIO(resp.text))

dfr = df[["TIME_PERIOD", "OBS_VALUE"]].copy()
dfr.columns = ["date", "deposit_facility_rate"]
dfr["date"] = pd.to_datetime(dfr["date"])
dfr = dfr.sort_values("date").set_index("date")

# Forward-fill to daily for comparison with market rates
dfr_daily = dfr.resample("D").ffill()
print(dfr.tail(10))

# R
library(readr)
dfr <- read_csv("https://eco3min.fr/dataset/ecb/ecb-deposit-facility-rate.csv")
dfr$date <- as.Date(dfr$date)

library(ggplot2)
ggplot(dfr, aes(date, deposit_facility_rate)) +
  geom_step(color = "#0f204b", linewidth = 1) +
  labs(title = "ECB Deposit Facility Rate", y = "Rate (%)", x = NULL) +
  theme_minimal()