The European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday allotted loans of 442.241 billion euros (around 619.5 billion U.S. dollars) to euro-zone banks for one year at a 1 percent interest rate.
This is the first time for the Frankfurt-based bank to provide one-year fixed tender to commercial banks, and it is part of the ECB's effort to boost liquidity in the 16-nation euro zone and free up bank lending.
The allotment is also the largest ever released by the European monetary authorities.
The huge amount dwarfs the loans of 348 billion euros that the bank had poured into the financial system in December 2007 to fight global economic downturn. (1 U.S. dollar = 0.7139 euros).