ECB Marginal Lending Facility Rate: Every Change Since 1999
ECB Dataset · Interest Rates
The ceiling of the ECB’s interest rate corridor: the penalty rate for emergency overnight borrowing from the Eurosystem. Since September 2024, set at 40 basis points above the Deposit Facility Rate.
What is the Marginal Lending Facility?
The Marginal Lending Facility (MLF) allows euro area banks to obtain overnight credit from their national central bank against eligible collateral. It serves as the ceiling of the ECB’s interest rate corridor, no rational bank would borrow in the interbank market at a rate above the MLF. Our rundown of ECB meeting dates compiles this reference.
In practice, usage of the MLF is minimal and typically signals individual bank stress rather than system-wide conditions. Daily usage is published on the ECB’s website. Spikes in MLF usage have historically coincided with episodes of interbank market dysfunction, notably during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2011–2012 sovereign debt crisis. Based on the ECB Data Portal series for ECB Marginal Lending Facility Rate.
Corridor width and its significance
The ECB narrowed the corridor in September 2024 from ±50/75 bps around the MRO to a tighter DFR + 15 bps (MRO) / DFR + 40 bps (MLF) structure. Methodology detailed in the ECB’s official key interest rates. A narrower corridor reduces the range within which money market rates can fluctuate, which becomes important as excess liquidity declines and the interbank market normalizes.
CSV Data Dictionary
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| date | YYYY-MM-DD | Date of rate change (effective date) |
| marginal_lending_rate | float | ECB Marginal Lending Facility Rate (% per annum) |
Python Code Example
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.MLFR.LEV"
resp = requests.get(url, params={"format": "csvdata"})
raw = pd.read_csv(StringIO(resp.text))
df = raw[["TIME_PERIOD", "OBS_VALUE"]].copy()
df.columns = ["date", "marginal_lending_rate"]
df["date"] = pd.to_datetime(df["date"])
df = df.sort_values("date").set_index("date")
df.plot(title="ECB Marginal Lending Facility Rate", figsize=(12, 5))Related ECB Datasets
Source & Methodology
Source: European Central Bank, Key Interest Rates
Series key: FM/B.U2.EUR.4F.KR.MLFR.LEV
Data terms: ECB copyright notice: the ECB is cited as the source, the data are reproduced accurately and any modification is stated; no Creative Commons licence.
Cite This Dataset
Last updated — 5 November 2026
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