WASHINGTON - BANKS borrowed in record amounts from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility over the past week, while investment firms drew slightly less.

The Fed's report released on Thursday said commercial banks averaged a record US$75 billion (S$111 billion) in daily borrowing over the past week. That compared with a daily average of US$44.5 billion in the previous week, the old record.

For the week ending on Wednesday, investment firms drew US$134 billion. That was down from a record US$147.7 billion in the previous week.

This category was broadened last week to include any loans that were made to the US and London-based broker-dealer subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. -- AP