WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board distributed $60 million to weak banks through the discount window during the past week, according to data released by the central bank Thursday.
It is unclear which banks might have received the loans but such borrowing is relatively rare and has only happened three times since the market turmoil began last August.
Meanwhile, lending to commercial banks grew 10.1% during the past week, to $17.675 billion. Investment bank borrowing remained at zero for the fourth straight week.
The Fed also lent $94 million to banks in rural or resort regions in the form of seasonal credit.
The vast majority of the loans — $13.725 billion — are long-term, maturing within 16 to 90 days. The remaining $4.105 billion will come due within 15 days.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York continued to dominate the discount window, distributing $12.3 billion. The San Francisco Fed lent $2.584 billion. The remaining $2.946 billion originated in the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Dallas districts.
