Barclays Bank has become the first firm to use the Bank of England’s (BoE) credit facility since the current credit crunch began.
Barclays borrowed $730 million from the state bank’s standing lending facility on Monday, according to the Daily Mail.
Barclays is believed to have used the loan to cover its accounts at the end of the day, countering speculation that the loan was related to liquidity concerns.
News of the rumoured loan to Barclays comes at a time when president Bob Diamond has confirmed that the bank’s interest in acquiring ABN Amro will not be affected by current market conditions.
“It certainly hasn’t impacted our interest,” he says.