COPENHAGEN, Sept 26: Denmark’s central bank on Friday said it had extended lending facilities for banks and mortgage finance groups to ease the pressure on tight liquidity.

“Owing to the tight liquidity situation at present, Danmark’s Nationalbank extends the banks and mortgage credit institutes’ lending facilities,” the central bank of the non-eurozone country said in a statement.

“Denmark’s Nationalbank will closely monitor developments with a view to introducing further measures,” it said, adding that Friday’s amendment would take effect immediately, but was temporary and would last only through January 2009. With the change, banks and institutes will gain access to credit “on the basis of their excess capital adequacy”.

Financial institutes will be able to borrow additional cash from the central bank at an interest rate 2.0 per cent higher than its regular lending rates.

Each financial institution will be permitted to borrow a maximum of $157 million.—AFP