In the wake of the two longer-term refinancing operations with a maturity of three years conducted in December 2011 and February 2012, amounts placed on the Eurosystem’s deposit facility surged to unprecedented high levels of around € 800 billion. The article clarifies how this high recourse...

In most advanced economies, risk-free interest rates – i.e. the rates applicable to assets with minimal credit risk – have fallen to historically low levels over the recent period, in both nominal and real terms. These interest rates are particularly important because they serve as the basis...

The article addresses recent trends in the financing costs of various public and private sectors in the euro area and Belgium. It pays particular attention to the monetary policy transmission process via the interest rate channel during the crisis and notably examines the extent to which the...