The United Arab Emirates central bank said on Monday local banks could borrow up to $200 million per day under facilities designed to cater to the financing needs of both conventional and Islamic banks.

While conventional banks would be required to borrow against certificates of deposit, Islamic banks would be offered swaps with an overall limit of $1 billion per bank, the central bank said in two statements on its website.

The terms for both types of facilities would span one week, one month and three months.

"This facility is provided to the banks to meet their foreign currency requirements in view of the current credit crisis in the international financial markets," the central bank said of the conventional bank facility.

It added that the Islamic facility would help lenders complying with sharia law "meet their foreign currency needs".-Reuters