The rates set by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. They indicate the direction of monetary policy in the Eurosystem. At present they include: The official central rate, which serves as the minimum bid rate for principal financing operations, and the lowest rate of interest at which counterparty institutions can bid in variable-rate tenders; the interest rate of the marginal lending facility; and the interest rate of the deposit facility. The latter two rates are usually set 100 basis points above and below the official central rate, respectively.