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The Federal Reserve's balance sheet expanded to a record $2 trillion for the first time this week as the U.S. government poured cash into the financial system in an effort to free up sclerotic credit markets.
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The U.S. central bank's various efforts to lend huge amounts to banks and dealers to backstop short-term funding markets that companies rely on for day-to-day survival pushed the Fed's balance sheet up to $2.058 trillion on Nov. 5 from $1.953 trillion on Oct. 29.
Net portfolio holdings of the Fed's Commercial Paper Funding Facility, which is buying three-month top-rated commercial paper to boost short-term lending, were $243.31 billion as of Nov. 5, up from $144.81 billion on Oct. 29.
Banks' direct borrowings from the Federal Reserve at the discount window eased slightly in the latest week from the previous week's record. But the financial sector remained highly reliant on the lender of last resort amid the biggest credit crisis in more than half a century.
Primary credit discount window borrowings averaged $109.99 billion per day in the latest week, down slightly from a record $111.95 billion per day the previous week.
Overall, bank borrowings from the central bank averaged $359.0 billion per day in the week ended Nov. 5, versus an average $388.81 billion per day the previous week.
"Other credit extensions," mostly reflecting loans to insurer AIG, were $81.22 billion as of Nov. 5, versus $83.55 billion as of Oct. 29.
Primary dealer and other broker dealer borrowings were $71.64 billion as of Nov. 5, versus $79.45 billion on Oct. 29.
Proceeds from the U.S. Treasury's sales of Treasury bills in the Fed's supplementary financing account, which are helping to fund the Fed's support of financial institutions, were $558.85 billion as of Nov. 5, versus $558.86 billion as of Oct. 29.
AIG loans declined by $2.3 billion to $81.2 billion.
For the week ending Wednesday, investment firms drew $77 billion.
That was down from $87.4 billion in the previous week.
This category was recently broadened to include any loans that were made to the U.S. and London-based broker-dealer subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.
-- CNBC's Steve Liesman and Associated Press contributed to this report.
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