The Bank of England’s latest attempt to support liquidity in the interbank lending markets appeared successful on Tuesday as financial institutions took up its offer to lend £10bn of three-month money without setting a minimum interest rate.

The Bank charged a minimum bid rate of 5.36 per cent for 3-month money, below its official rate of 5.5 per cent, after receiving bids for £10.85bn. It had changed the rules for the auction last week as part of a co-ordinated action by central banks.