Russia c.bank issues 143.07 bln roubles in loans to banks

MOSCOW Nov 17 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank had issued 143.07 billion roubles ($5.23 billion) in collateral-free loans to commercial banks on Monday, out of the 150 billion on offer.

The cut off rate at the auction was 12.52 percent. The loans are granted for a period of six months.

For details of the previous five-weeks auction held on Nov.11, see [ID:nLB116804].

The minimum rating requirements for the banks at the auction were the same as for three-months collateral-free loans -- the credit organization should be rated no lower than BB- by Fitch and S&P or Ba3 by Moody's.

The collateral-free loans from the central bank were introduced from Oct. 20, to help boost liquidity in Russia's banking system.