LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - Central banks around the world have slashed interest rates over
the past few months, providing in some cases unprecedented amounts of stimulus to help soften
the blow to the world economy from the coronavirus pandemic and to keep markets functioning.
Interest rates set by the central banks listed are their usual benchmark policy rates unless
stated otherwise. Asset purchases, or quantitative easing (QE) are cited as a brief overview of
announced intended amounts. This item does not attempt to list all of what are in some cases
large numbers of smaller policy announcements.
For a FACTBOX detailing global central bank interest rate cuts since the crisis began:
GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS
Country Policy Current Date Latest Quantitative easing/asset purchases/
rate rate change/d market liquidity operations
ecision
United Fed funds 0.00-0.2 March 3 -50 bps Buying unlimited quantities of U.S.
States target 5 March 15 -100 bps Treasuries, mortgage-backed and agency
securities after initially announcing
an additional $700 billion
Also buying municipal bonds, corporate
bonds and ETFs
Dollar swap lines set up with several
major central banks
$2.3 trillion in loan arrangements for
local governments, small and mid-sized
businesses
Euro zone TLTRO rate -0.75 March 12 -25bps 750 billion euros in additional asset
purchases, taking the total to about
No 1.1 trillion euros this year, after
change initially adding 120 billion euros to
to main its existing asset-purchase programme
-0.50%de
posit Removes cap on how much in bonds it
rate or may purchase from any euro zone member
0% refi country
rate
Britain Bank Rate 0.10 March 11 -50 bps 200 billion pounds of additional asset
March 19 -15 bps purchases
Reduced capital buffer requirement for
banks
Will buy investment-grade commercial
paper with maturities up to 12 months
Japan Interest -0.10 March 16 No Planned annual increase in the Bank's
on excess change government bond holdings held at 80
reserves to -0.1% trillion yen
short-te
rm rate 2 trillion yen of commercial paper and
or corporate bonds to be bought by
around September, temporarily lift in target
0% JGB for annual purchases of ETFs to 12
10-year trillion yen.
yield
target Introduces new lending facility worth
8 trillion yen
Canada Overnight 0.25 March 4 -50 bps To purchase C$5 billion of government
target March 16 -50 bps securities weekly
rate March 27 -50 bps
Eligible collateral for term repo
operations expanded
Launches C$50 billion insured mortgage
purchase programme; C$10 billion
credit support programme for
businesses
China 1-year 3.85 Feb 20 -10 bps Lowers 1-year medium-term lending
Loan Prime facility (MLF) rate on loans to
Rate April 20 -20 bps financial institutions to 2.95% from
3.15%
Cuts the amount of cash that small
banks must hold as reserves by 50
basis points to 6.50%, releasing
around 400 billion yuan
Cuts 7-day reverse repo rate to 2.20%
from 2.40%
Cuts 5-year LPR by 10 bps to 4.65%
from 4.75%
Australia Cash rate 0.25 March 3 -25 bps Government bond purchases, targeting
March 19 -25 bps around 0.25% for 3-year yields
A$15 billion purchases of residential
mortgage-backed and other asset-backed
securities
A$90 billion funding facility to banks
at fixed rate of 0.25%
New Zealand Overnight 0.25 March 16 -75 bps To buy up to NZ$30 billion worth of
Cash Rate government bonds. Also will buy up to
NZ$3 billion of local government debt
Norway Policy 0.25 March 13 -50 bps Central bank offers cheap loans to
rate banks and financial institutions
March 20 -75 bps
Sweden Repo rate 0 March 16 No Central bank offers 500 billion crowns
change in loans to companies via banks and
boosts its purchases of securities by
300 billion crowns
Switzerland Policy -0.75 March 19 No Sets up refinancing facility for
rate change unlimited supply of credit to banking
system
OTHER G20 CENTRAL BANKS
India Repo rate 4.40 March 27 -75 bps Targeted long-term repo operations and
other regulatory measures for banks
worth up to 500 billion rupees
Cuts reverse repo rate 25bps to 3.75%
Indonesia 7-day 4.50 March 19 -25 bps Cuts reserve requirement ratio by 200
reverse bps for conventional banks and 50 bps
repurchase for Islamic banks, both to 3.50%,
rate tweaks liquidity rules, effective May
1
Brazil Selic rate 3.75 March 18 -50 bps Announces 1.2 trillion reais of
liquidity, credit and capital measures
South Korea Base rate 0.75 March 16 -50 bps Central bank sets up plan for
brokerages to borrow funds against
collateral that includes AA- rated
corporate bonds
South Repo rate 4.25 March 19 -100 bps Will buy South African government
Africa bonds on the secondary market
April 14 -100 bps
Mexico Overnight 6.00 March 20 -50 bps Announced liquidity and credit steps
target worth $31 billion, cut rates on its
rate additional ordinary liquidity
facility, reduced by 50 billion pesos
April 21 -50 bps in total private banks' reserve
requirement
Turkey 1-week 9.75 March 17 -100 bps Central bank doubles limit for bond
repo rate buying this year to 10% of total
central bank assets. Extends 60
billion lira worth of rediscount
credits and adds more lending options
well below its 9.75% policy rate.
Saudi Repo rate 1.00 March 16 -75 bps Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority sets
Arabia up 50 billion riyal package to help
SMEs
OTHER WORLD CENTRAL BANKS
Armenia Refinancin 5.25 March 17 -25 bps
g rate
Bahrain 1-week 1.00 March 16 -75 bps Cuts overnight lending ratio to 1.70%
deposit from 2.45%
rate
Chile Monetary 0.50 March 16 -75 bps
Policy
Rate March 31 -50 bps
Colombia Interventi 3.75 March 27 -50 bps Adds nearly 30 trillion pesos of
on Rate liquidity, including reductions in
reserve requirements, debt purchases
and repos
Czech 2-week 1.00 March 16 -50 bps
Republic repo rate
March 26 -75 bps
Egypt Overnight 10.25 March 16 -300 bps
lending
rate
Ghana MPC Rate 14.50 March 18 -150 bps
Hong Kong Base Rate 1.50 March 4 -50 bps Cuts financial institutions' reserve
requirements to 1% from 2% of
risk-weighted assets, estimated to be
worth HK$500 billion
Iceland Deposit 1.75 March 11 -50 bps Announces asset purchases, cuts
rate capital reserve buffer to 0% from 2%,
March 18 -50 bps sets up credit facility to offer
collateralized loans to banks
Israel BOI 0.10 April 6 -15 bps Central bank expands repo transactions
Interest to include corporate bonds; will
Rate provide loans to banks to increase
credit to SMEs for 5 billion shekels
Jordan CBJ Main 2.50 March 5 -50 bps Cuts compulsory reserves for
Rate commercial banks to 5% from 7%, worth
March 16 -100 bps more than 500 million dinars of
liquidity
Kazakhstan Base rate 9.50 April 3 -250 bps
Kenya Central 7.25 March 23 -100 bps Cuts cash reserve ratio for commercial
Bank rate banks to 4.25% from 5.25%, releasing
an extra 35.2 billion shillings;
triples duration of repurchase
agreement transactions with banks to
90 days
Malaysia Overnight 2.50 March 3 -25 baps Cuts statutory reserve ratio (SRR) by
policy 100bps to 2.00%, releasing 30 billion
rate ringgit
Mongolia Policy 9.00 April 13 -100 bps
Interest
Rate
Morocco Policy 2.00 March 17 -25 bps
rate
Namibia Lending 4.25 April 15 -100 bps
rate
Pakistan SBP Policy 9.00 March 17 -75 bps
Rate
April 16 -200 bps
Peru Reference 0.25 March 19 -100 bps
rate
April 9 -100 bps
Philippines RRP Rate 2.75 March 19 -50 bps Reserve requirement ratio cut by 200
bps to 12%
April 16 -50 bps
Poland Reference 0.50 March 17 -50 bps Government bond purchases
rate
April 8 -50 bps
Qatar Repo rate 1.00 March 16 -50 bps
Romania Policy 2.00 March 20 -50 bps Central bank narrows corridor between
rate lending and deposit facilities,
provides liquidity to banks via repo
transactions, purchases
leu-denominated debt on secondary
market
Serbia NBS 1.50 March 11 -50 bps
Interest
Rates -25 bps
April 9
Sri Lanka Standing 7.00 March 16 -25 bps Cuts its bank rate, the emergency
Lending funding rate for commercial banks, to
Facility April 3 -25 bps 10%, an effective 500bps reduction
Rate
Taiwan Policy 1.125 March 19 -25 bps T$200 billion for banks to support
rate SMEs
Thailand 1-day 0.75 Feb 5 -25 bps Central bank will provide soft loans
repurchase worth 500 billion baht plus a loan
rate March 20 -25 bps payment holiday to help SMEs; sets up
corporate bond stabilisation fund
worth 400 billion baht and another one
to provide liquidity for mutual funds;
government bond purchase program
amounting more than 100 billion baht
during 13-20 March 2020
Uganda Central 8.00 April 6 -100 bps
Bank rate
Uzbekistan Policy 15.00 April 14 -100 bps
rate
Vietnam Refinancin 5.00 March 17 -100 bps
g rate