Riksbank rates

Repo rate

The repo rate is the rate of interest at which banks can borrow or deposit funds at the Riksbank for a period of seven days. The repo rate has been the Riksbank's policy rate since 1994.

The deposit and lending rate

The deposit rate is the rate of interest banks receive when they deposit funds in their accounts at the Riksbank overnight and is normally 0.75 percentage points lower than the repo rate.

The lending rate is the rate of interest banks pay when they borrow overnight funds from the Riksbank and is normally 0.75 percentage points higher than the repo rate.

The marginal rate

The marginal rate was the Riksbank's policy rate from December 1985 until the end of May 1994, when it was replaced with the repo rate.

The reference rate

The reference rate is an interest rate that is determined by the Riksbank once every six months. The interest rate can be changed on 1 January and 1 July. The reference rate corresponds to the Riksbank's repo rate at the end of the previous six-month period, rounded up to the nearest half-percentage point. The reference rate serves no monetary policy purpose.

The discount rate

Until 30 June 2002, the discount rate was the Riksbank's official interest rate and was determined every quarter by the Swedish National Debt Office. It set the standard for the various credit institutions' deposit and lending rates, for example, as well as for the statutory interest on arrears. As of 1 July 2002, it was replaced by the reference rate.