Discount rate
| interest rate | height |
|---|---|
| European Central Bank (valid from: September 18, 2019) | |
| Deposit rate (deposit facility) | −0.50% |
| Base rate (main refinancing operations) | 0.00% |
| Marginal lending rate (marginal lending facility) | 0.25% |
| Swiss National Bank (valid from: June 13, 2019) | |
| SNB policy rate | −0.75% |
| Federal Reserve System (effective March 16, 2020) | |
| Federal funds rate target range | 0.0 to 0.25% |
| Primary Credit Rate | 0.25% |
| Bank of Japan (effective December 19, 2008) | |
| Discount rate (basic discount / loan rate) | 0.30% |
| Bank of England (effective March 19, 2020) | |
| Official Bank Rate | 0.1% |
| Chinese People's Bank (valid from: February 20, 2020) | |
| Discount rate (one-year lending rate) | 4.05% |
The discount rate (from ital. Disconto , to lat. Discomputare for to settle ) is the interest rate at which a credit institution can sell ( rediscount ) bills of exchange to the central bank . This enables it to obtain liquidity in the short term . As a price, it pays the discount rate (as a discount from the nominal value ).
history
The main aim of the Bundesbank's policy was to control the credit supply behavior of banks and the demand for money and credit in the economy indirectly through changes in bank liquidity and interest rates on the money market . This was derived from § 15 BbankG, which granted the Bundesbank the right to set the discount rate to influence the circulation of money and the granting of credit. The (re-) discount business resulted from § 19 BbankG. Switching as a means of credit and payment played a central role in the German economy for a long time. The (re-) discount volume therefore peaked in 1979/1980 and became the decisive source of central bank money supply .
In December 1986 the share of discount credit in borrowing had fallen to 60%. Until 1987, the discount rate played the decisive role in the refinancing of credit institutions by the Bundesbank and as the key interest rate , because the banks were able to obtain liquidity at the discount rate by selling bills of exchange eligible for the Bundesbank . The function of a reference interest rate was assumed by the discount rate because it was mentioned as a reference value in contracts and laws. Since 1987 the discounting of bills of exchange had lost its importance, so that the Lombard rate came to the fore. In comparison to the new open market policy instruments of the Bundesbank, bill refinancing gradually took a back seat; their share in total central bank loans was only 29.5% in 1994, compared to 83.5% in 1980.
European Central Bank
As a result of the European Monetary Union , the Bundesbank also lost its legal power to set the key interest rates to the European Central Bank . It has been responsible for determining the key interest rate since January 1999 and has decided on three aggregates , namely an interest rate for the main refinancing business , for the marginal lending facility and for the deposit facility . In addition, it strengthened its range of instruments through open market operations in the euro area .
As of January 1999, the discount rate in Germany, insofar as it was used in contracts and regulations as the reference rate for interest and other services, had to be replaced by the base rate in Section 247 (1) of the German Civil Code (BGB) . The base rate has been permanently determined since January 2002 when the law for the modernization of the law of obligations came into force.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Bundesbank's monetary policy , Deutsche Bundesbank, October 1995, p. 98 (PDF; 3.2 MB)
- ↑ a b Otmar Issing / Bernd Rudolph, Der Rediskontkredit , 1988, p. 41 f. (PDF; 6.8 MB)
- ↑ Werner Ehrlicher / Diethard B. Simmert, Changes in the monetary policy instruments of the Deutsche Bundesbank , 1988, p. 134.
- ^ The Bundesbank's monetary policy , Deutsche Bundesbank, October 1995, p. 109
