ECB calls variable rate refinancing

The European Central Bank called for tenders for a 14-day variable rate main refinancing operation expiring on Oct 2.

A minimum bid rate of 3.25% applies at the refi.

Bids with the highest interest rates will be satisfied first and bids with successively lower interest rates will be accepted until the total liquidity to be allotted is exhausted.

The ECB's allotment decision will be announced tomorrow, with settlement on Wednesday.

At the last variable rate refi on Sept 10, the weighted average interest rate on accepted bids was 3.28%. The marginal rate - the lowest rate at which bids were accepted - was 3.27%.

The ECB estimates that the average daily liquidity needs of the banking system resulting from autonomous factors will be 60.6 billion euro between today and Sept 23, the day before settlement of the next main refi operation.

The so-called autonomous factors mainly relate to money leaving the banking system for national treasury departments and placed in their deposits with the central bank. For example, tax payments can lead to an increase in these autonomous liquidity factors.

Overall liquidity requirements are determined by the needs arising from the autonomous factors and by minimum reserve requirements. Reserve requirements were set at an average of €129bn for the current maintenance period.

Funds remaining in the market over the next week as a result of previous main and long-term refi operations can be set against these overall requirements to give an indication of the amount of money the ECB needs to award for reserves to be in line with average requirements over the week ahead.

This calculation suggests that the ECB would need to award €79.6bn at this week's refi.