Discount Window Borrowing Rises Again

Total borrowing through the Federal Reserve Board's discount window rose 3.8% to $193.9 billion last week, the central bank said Friday.

Traditional borrowing from banks saw the sharpest increase, jumping 10.4% to $93.8 billion on Dec. 31. The Fed said it lent $15 million in secondary credit to weak institutions, a drop of 62% from a week earlier, and $7 million in seasonal credit to banks in rural or resort regions, more than double its level on Dec. 24.

Fed lending to investment banks dropped 2% to $37.4 billion. The Fed said the amount it had extended through the discount window to American International Group fell 1.5% to $38.9 billion. Lending against asset-backed commercial paper held by money market mutual funds dropped less than 1% to $23.8 billion.

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