The short answer
The ECB deposit facility rate (DFR) peaked at 4.00%. It reached that level on 20 September 2023 — the tenth consecutive hike — and held there until the first cut on 12 June 2024. That 4.00% is the highest the deposit rate has been since the euro launched in 1999.
What the deposit facility rate is
The DFR is the interest the European Central Bank pays commercial banks for parking spare cash at the central bank overnight. Since 2024 it has been the ECB's single key policy rate. It is not the same as the older "main refinancing rate" headline — for a live chart of the full series, see our ECB key interest rate history.
The 2022–2023 hiking cycle
The ECB lifted the DFR from −0.50% to 4.00% in fourteen months — ten hikes in a row, the fastest tightening in its history, triggered by euro-area inflation peaking above 10%.
| Effective date | New DFR | Move |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Jul 2022 | 0.00% | +0.50 |
| 14 Sep 2022 | 0.75% | +0.75 |
| 02 Nov 2022 | 1.50% | +0.75 |
| 21 Dec 2022 | 2.00% | +0.50 |
| 08 Feb 2023 | 2.50% | +0.50 |
| 22 Mar 2023 | 3.00% | +0.50 |
| 10 May 2023 | 3.25% | +0.25 |
| 21 Jun 2023 | 3.50% | +0.25 |
| 02 Aug 2023 | 3.75% | +0.25 |
| 20 Sep 2023 | 4.00% | +0.25 |
The peak plateau (Sep 2023 – Jun 2024)
The DFR sat at 4.00% for nearly nine months while the ECB waited for inflation — especially services inflation — to cool convincingly before turning to cuts.
The 2024 cuts
| Effective date | New DFR | Move |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jun 2024 | 3.75% | −0.25 |
| 18 Sep 2024 | 3.50% | −0.25 |
| 23 Oct 2024 | 3.25% | −0.25 |
| 18 Dec 2024 | 3.00% | −0.25 |
Why it matters for your money
A 4.00% deposit rate is what finally pushed euro savings accounts and Euribor-linked mortgages off the floor. Even after the 2024 cuts, rates sit far above the negative-rate 2010s: savers earn real interest again, and variable-rate borrowers pay for it.