Longer-term refinancing operations
(LTRO).
Longer-term refinancing operations by the European Central Bank (ECB) through member national central banks (NCBs) with eligible monetary institutions are liquidity-providing reverse transactions that are regularly conducted with a monthly frequency and a maturity of three months. These transactions are 'long-term' in relation to those under its main refinancing operations (MROs or MRO) that have a maturity of one week.
Longer-term refinancing operations may also be conducted at irregular intervals or with other maturities, e.g. the length of one maintenance period, six months, twelve months or thirty-six months are also possible.
The ECB also has a programme of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (T-LTROs or TLTROs) intended to stimulate certain types of lending by banks.
These targeted operations have aimed to stimulate, for example:
- Banks' total private-sector loans outstanding
- The flow of such lending.
