Borrowing at the Federal Reserve Board's discount window dropped 4.5% in the week ending Wednesday, to $126 billion.
Commercial bank borrowings also dropped, falling 9.5% to $37.8 billion. The central bank also lent $140 million in secondary credit to weaker institutions. There was no lending to weaker institutions a week earlier.
For the second week in a row, there was no borrowing from investment banks. In the aftermath of Bear Stearns Cos.' Collapse last year, the Fed invited banks to borrow from the window. Their borrowings topped $146 billion last fall.
Lending against asset-backed commercial paper held by money market mutual funds declined 4.5% to $27.3 billion.
