LONDON - THE Bank of England's extraordinary decision to create 75 billion pounds (S$165 billion) to fight the credit crisis won praise among the British press on Friday as a bold, if risky move.

'The UK central bank is acting in proportion to the severity of the crisis,' the Financial Times said, urging the European Central Bank to follow suit.

The BoE slashed interest rates to a record-low 0.5 per cent Thursday, while the ECB cut its rate by half a percentage point to a record low 1.50 per cent.

But the FT said that with banks worldwide failing to resume lending following the credit crunch that erupted in 2007, the interest rate was 'a lever with hardly any wiring connected to it'.

In a bid to free Britain from its first recession in 18 years, the independent BoE said it would issue the equivalent of US$106 billion or 84 billion euros via so-called 'quantitative easing' measures.

It plans to buy government bonds from commercial banks in the hope that the institutions will again lend in vast quantities to businesses and individuals.

The Guardian said the move was a 'big, brave step' but warned it would only help as part of a wider package of measures.

The Daily Mail warned the BoE was now in unchartered waters, saying: 'It is a high risk strategy and one which has never been tried in Britain before.' However, it conceded: 'Easing the credit supply is the crucial priority for the economy and this is one of the last options to achieve that.' -- AFP