NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK and Westpac borrowed billions of dollars in emergency funds from the US Federal Reserve at the height of financial crisis, according to documents just released by the central bank.

The Reserve Bank of Australia tapped the Federal Reserve for more than $US53 billion over six months after the crisis caused a global shortage of US dollars.

Documents released yesterday by the US Federal Reserve offer an insight into more than 21,000 emergency loans that the Fed provided to investment banks, foreign central banks and a number of other institutions. Most of the funds were released at the peak of the crisis as banks scrambled to secure crucial day-to-day funding.

Only two Australian banks took advantage of the funding window opened by the Federal Reserve as it attempted to stabilise financial markets during the crisis, the documents show.

A swathe of European banks and several Japanese banks also took advantage of the facility.