Investment firms tap Fed for billions

Wall Street banks take advantage of Fed's emergency loan program, borrowing an average of $38.1 billion a day last week.

Big Wall Street investment companies are stepping up their borrowing a bit from the Federal Reserve's unprecedented emergency lending program.

The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that those firms averaged $38.1 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the new lending program. That compared with $32.9 billion in the previous week and $13.4 billion in the first week the lending facility opened.

The program, which began on March 17, is part of the Fed's effort to aid the financial system.

The Fed, for the first time, agreed to let big investment houses temporarily get emergency loans directly from the central bank. This mechanism, similar to one available for commercial banks for years, will continue for at least six months. It was the broadest use of the Fed's lending authority since the 1930s.

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