It has used all the appropriate instruments at its disposal in order to ensure its primary priorities: price and financial stability across the euro area. C.1 The role of the ECB on price stability 1.
Reducing base rates First of all, and since the emerging of the financial crisis in 2008, the ECB has reduced its main refinancing rate from 4.25% to 0%, the largest cut ever decided over such a short period in Europe, and also brought the interest rate paid on banks’ deposits of excess reserves with the Eurosystem to negative territory, -0.40% today. 2.