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WFN QUICK BRIEF · UNDER 1 MIN
The short version
MODE 2 OF 2
What the source establishes
The ECB identifies three key interest rates. The deposit facility concerns overnight bank deposits with the Eurosystem. Main refinancing operations provide weekly funding against collateral. The marginal lending facility provides overnight credit against collateral. These are different transactions, not three names for one price. ECB — Key interest rates and facility definitions ↗
What the distinction changes
A comparison between central banks becomes ambiguous when one side uses a deposit rate and the other uses a target-range endpoint without explanation. The numbers may be individually correct while the comparison fails to describe equivalent operating arrangements.
Questions for the next review
Use the official facility name, effective date and units in every data table. Separate the level from the change and from the surprise relative to prior expectations. For a dated article, retain the contemporaneous decision rather than silently substituting today’s rate.
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WFN STORY COMPASS
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EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATIONWFN EDITION · 15 OCTOBER 2026
Editorial noteSource-based explanation with original WFN analysis. Historical records retain their original periods. Numerical examples are labelled as illustrative, not observed market data. AI-generated conceptual illustration; it does not document an actual event or product interface.
WFN REALITY LEDGER
What is on the record?
Primary-source explainer
Primary-source explainer; examples are explicitly illustrative
Primary record / reference periodECB facility definitions checked 15 October 2026
The cited material establishes the documented method or historical record. WFN analysis and illustrative calculations are labelled separately.
Deposit, weekly refinancing and marginal lending rates describe different operations. The ECB’s rate table labels each facility separately.
01 · VERIFIED RECORD
What the source establishes
The ECB identifies three key interest rates. The deposit facility concerns overnight bank deposits with the Eurosystem. Main refinancing operations provide weekly funding against collateral. The marginal lending facility provides overnight credit against collateral. These are different transactions, not three names for one price. ECB — Key interest rates and facility definitions ↗
The ECB says that its March 2024 framework decision retained the deposit facility rate as the rate steering the monetary policy stance. Its official history labels rate changes by the date they take effect, which can differ from the announcement date. ECB — Key interest rates and facility definitions ↗
02 · WFN EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
What the distinction changes
A comparison between central banks becomes ambiguous when one side uses a deposit rate and the other uses a target-range endpoint without explanation. The numbers may be individually correct while the comparison fails to describe equivalent operating arrangements.
WFN’s reading approach is to name the facility and its function before discussing a rate differential. An exchange-rate interpretation then needs the expected future policy path and the economic context. A mechanical subtraction of two headline rates does not establish the direction of the next currency move.
03 · WHAT TO CHECK NEXT
Questions for the next review
Use the official facility name, effective date and units in every data table. Separate the level from the change and from the surprise relative to prior expectations. For a dated article, retain the contemporaneous decision rather than silently substituting today’s rate.
