Open market operations

The Eurosystem’s regular open market operations consist of one-week liquidity-providing operations in euro (main refinancing operations, or MROs) as well as three-month liquidity-providing operations in euro (longer-term refinancing operations, or LTROs).

MROs serve to steer short-term interest rates, to manage the liquidity situation and to signal the monetary policy stance in the euro area, while LTROs provide additional, longer-term refinancing to the financial sector.

Non-standard monetary policy measures

LTROs - In recent years, the regular operations have been complemented by two liquidity-providing long-term refinancing operations in euro with a three-year maturity (maturing on 29 January 2015 and on 26 February 2015), as well as by US dollar liquidity-providing operations. Three-year LTROs

TLTROs - The targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) are Eurosystem operations that provide financing to credit institutions for periods of up to four years. They offer long-term funding at attractive conditions to banks in order to further ease private sector credit conditions and stimulate bank lending to the real economy. TLTROs - Targeted longer-term refinancing operations

APP - In addition and since 2009, several programs of outright asset purchases have been implemented with the objective of sustaining growth across the euro area and in consistency with the aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2% over the medium term. APP - Asset purchases programme

Summary of the "ad hoc" communications related to monetary policy implementation

EURO operations
Ref.TypeSettlement dateMaturity dateDaysAllotted amount
20180045MRO16/05/201823/05/201872.01 bn
20180039LTRO26/04/201826/07/2018912.28 bn
20180030LTRO29/03/201828/06/2018912.36 bn
20180017LTRO01/03/201831/05/2018912.81 bn
20170028LTRO29/03/201724/03/20211456233.47 bn
20160133LTRO21/12/201616/12/2020145662.16 bn
20160103LTRO28/09/201630/09/2020146345.27 bn
20160063LTRO29/06/201626/09/20188196.72 bn
20160065LTRO29/06/201624/06/20201456399.29 bn
20160026LTRO30/03/201626/09/20189107.34 bn
20150125LTRO16/12/201526/09/2018101518.3 bn
20150097LTRO30/09/201526/09/2018109215.55 bn
20150065LTRO24/06/201526/09/2018119073.79 bn
20150034LTRO25/03/201526/09/2018128197.85 bn
20140242LTRO17/12/201426/09/20181379129.84 bn
20140189LTRO24/09/201426/09/2018146382.6 bn
1) MRO = Main Refinancing Operations, LTRO = Long Term Refinancing Operations, OT = other type of operation
Non-EURO operations
Ref.Curr.Settlement dateMaturity dateDaysAllotted amount
20180046USD17/05/201824/05/201870.08 bn
1) MRO = Main Refinancing Operations, LTRO = Long Term Refinancing Operations, OT = other type of operation
EURO outright operations - Reference date: 16 May 2018
Instrument Outstanding amount1 (EUR millions)
Covered bond purchase programme 5,061
Securities market programme 84,655
Covered bond purchase programme 2 4,330
Covered bond purchase programme 3 253,473
Asset-backed securities purchase programme 27,442
Public sector purchase programme 1,981,483
Corporate sector purchase programme 154,491
1 At amortised cost
See Asset purchases programmes for more information