Term Funding Facility to Support the Australian Economy
The Term Funding Facility closed to new drawdowns of funding on 30 June 2021. The last possible maturity date for Term Funding Facility funds is 30 June 2024. For any operational questions, contact the Domestic Market Operations desk.
As part of the comprehensive policy response to the effects of the pandemic, the Reserve Bank established the Term Funding Facility (TFF) to offer low-cost three-year funding to authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). The facility closed to new drawdowns on 30 June 2021, at which time $188 billion of funding was outstanding. As the facility provides low-cost fixed-rate funding for 3 years it will continue to support low borrowing costs until mid 2024.
The facility has two objectives:
- to reinforce the benefits to the economy of a lower cash rate, by reducing the funding costs of ADIs and in turn helping to reduce interest rates for borrowers. It complements the reduction in funding costs from the Reserve Bank's target for three-year Australian Government bond yields
- to encourage ADIs to support businesses during a difficult period, ADIs could access additional low-cost funding if they expanded their lending to businesses. The scheme encouraged lending to all businesses, although the incentives were stronger for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The TFF was first announced on 19 March 2020, and was subsequently amended to provide further support in response to economic developments. On 1 September 2020, an increase and extension of the TFF was announced. On 3 November 2020, a reduction to the TFF pricing rate was announced. On 4 May 2021, the Board confirmed that it was not considering a further extension of the TFF.
Published information
The Reserve Bank publishes in Statistical Table A3 weekly data on total TFF drawings, and will continue to do so until TFF drawings are fully repaid in June 2024. Statistical Table A3 also includes historical data on the total TFF Funding Allowance and Additional Allowance accrued throughout the scheme’s drawdown period from lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and large businesses.
Please also see:
- Statement on Monetary Policy – August 2020 – ‘Box E: The Reserve Bank's Term Funding Facility (TFF)’.
- RBA Bulletin – December 2020 – ‘The Term Funding Facility’.
- ‘The Term Funding Facility, Other Policy Measures, and Financial Conditions’, address by Christopher Kent, Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) to KangaNews, Online, 9 June 2021.
- Statement on Monetary Policy – August 2021 – ‘Box C: Use of the Reserve Bank's Term Funding Facility’.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 19 March 2020 | TFF Market Announcement |
| 31 March 2020 | ADIs notified of Funding Allowances and instructions for submitting TFF Repo Requests |
| 1 April 2020 (midday) | First date for submission of TFF Repo Requests |
| 6 April 2020 | First settlement date for TFF repos |
| 1 September 2020 | TFF Market Announcement |
| 25 September 2020 | Deadline for submission of TFF Repo Requests for Initial Allowance |
| 28 September 2020 | First date for submission of TFF Repo Requests for Supplementary Allowance |
| 30 September 2020 | Last date for drawdowns of Initial Allowance |
| 1 October 2020 | First date for drawdowns against Supplementary Allowance |
| 3 November 2020 | TFF Market Announcement |
| 25 June 2021 | Deadline for submission of TFF Repo Requests for Additional and Supplementary Allowance |
| 30 June 2021 | Last date for drawdowns of Additional and Supplementary Allowance |
| 30 September 2023 | Final date for maturity of funds drawn under Initial Allowance |
| 30 June 2024 | Final date for maturity of funds drawn under Additional and Supplementary Allowance |
| Recurring dates | |
| Fridays | Publication of statistics on usage of the Term Funding Facility (see release schedule of Table A3) |
Information for participation in the TFF
The Terms and Conditions for TFF Repos are outlined in the RBA Information and Transfer System (RITS) Regulations, in particular, Annexure F which covers Additional Terms Applicable to TFF Repos.
The TFF Operational Notes provide practical details about the scheme, including eligibility criteria, more detailed information on the calculation of the Funding Allowances and the process for conducting a TFF repo to obtain funding. The Operational Notes are intended to assist ADIs to better understand how the TFF operates. They are only legally binding to the extent that they are specifically referred to in the RITS Regulations.
The TFF Worked Examples provide additional detail on how Funding Allowances were calculated and illustrate the quantity of borrowing available in various scenarios.
Please note that the terms of the TFF can be revised by the Reserve Bank at any time. Usage of the TFF remains at the sole discretion of the Reserve Bank.
Forms
These forms were used during the TFF drawdown period.
Contact details
| You want to … | Your contact |
|---|---|
| Make a media or public enquiry | RBAInfo@rba.gov.au |
| Enquire about the TFF | RBATFF@rba.gov.au |
| Substitute collateral on a TFF Repo | Domestic Markets Operations |
| Terminate a TFF Repo | Domestic Markets Operations |
| Enquire about Eligible Securities | Eligible_Securities@rba.gov.au |