Russia's state-owned bank VTB yesterday became the first domestic financial institution to secure refinancing from the Central Bank of Russia after it borrowed close to Rb6.9bn (€194m) in shorter-term loans to support its cash position.

The development, which came the same day the CBR said it would accept banks' credit as collateral for loans as part of a bid to boost short-term liquidity, is the first time a bank has done this although it does not reflect any short-term funding crisis at VTB, analysts said.