Late Payments: Current Base and Late Payment Interest Rates

Announcement of the base interest rate effective January 1, 2025: Adjustment to 2.27%

The Deutsche Bundesbank calculates the base interest rate in accordance with the statutory requirements of Section 247(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB) and publishes the current rate in the Federal Gazette pursuant to Section 247(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB).

The base rate under the German Civil Code (BGB) serves primarily as the basis for calculating default interest, § 288(1), sentence 2 BGB. It is adjusted on January 1 and July 1 of each year by the percentage points by which its reference rate has risen or fallen since the last adjustment of the base rate. The reference value is the interest rate for the most recent main refinancing operation of the European Central Bank prior to the first calendar day of the relevant half-year.

The fixed interest rate for the European Central Bank’s most recent main refinancing operation on December 30, 2024, is 3.15%, representing a decrease of 1.10 percentage points since July 1, 2024, the date on which the base rate was last adjusted (the fixed interest rate for the last main refinancing operation in June 2024 was 4.25%).

As a result, the base interest rate under the German Civil Code will be 2.27% as of January 1, 2025 (previously 3.37%).

The new base interest rate will be announced in the December 31, 2024, issue of the Federal Gazette.

Source: Deutsche Bundesbank press release