Washington, D.C. ? Banks borrowed in record amounts from the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program over the past week, while investment banks drew loans at a slower pace.

The Fed’s report, released Thursday, showed commercial banks averaged a record $111.9 billion in daily borrowing over the past week. That surpassed the old record – a daily average of $105.8 billion – from the prior week.

For the week ending Wednesday, investment firms drew $87.4 billion. That was down from $111.3 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.

The Fed report showed that its net holdings of “commercial paper” came to $144.8 billion on Wednesday. The Fed created a first-of-its kind program, which started Monday, to buy mounds of this crucial short-term debt that companies use to pay everyday expenses. The Fed has said that around $1.3 trillion worth of commercial paper would qualify.