The Federal Reserve loaned $20 billion in 28-day funds at a rate of 4.65 percent on Monday at the first of four auctions planned by the central bank to raise the amount of cash available in the banking system, Bloomberg reported. Financial institutions submitted $61.553 billion in bids, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.08. There were 93 bidders, the central bank said in a statement today.

The Fed established the Term Auction Facility last week to provide cash after interest-rate cuts did not overcome banks’ hesitation to lend because of concern about losses related to subprime mortgage securities. The program made funding from the Fed available beyond the 20 authorized primary dealers that trade directly with the central bank. A second auction is scheduled for Thursday.

The first TAF loans will settle tomorrow and mature on Jan. 17. Financial institutions that submitted winning bids will be contacted by their respective Federal Reserve Banks by 11 a.m. today.

The minimum bid amount was $10 million at the auction, with additional bid increments of $100,000 and a minimum award increment of $10,000. Each participant was limited to a maximum of two bids, and was not allowed to bid on more than 10 percent of the $20 billion offered.