Kiev- The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Wednesday moved to bail out one of the country's banks, extending a low cost credit and banning claims by creditors.

Persons or businesses owed money by Prominvestbank, Ukraine's sixth largest bank, will not be able to press any claims against the company for the next six months, an NBU statement read in part.

The move came after nearly a week of media reports Prominvestbank had come into difficulty due to its large commitments in Ukraine's metals production and real estate industries - both top earners until as late as last month, but now sectors facing massive losses due to falling international commodity prices and more costly credit.

Prominvestbank officials last week denied their bank faced business conditions more difficult than the rest of Ukraine's finance industry, and claimed reports of a lack of liquidity were linked to traders attempting to push down Prominvestbank stock value in a hostile takeover bid.

The bank's retail offices however saw long queues of account holders waiting for hours at a time in hopes of pulling their money out of Prominvestbank before the situation worsened.

The NBU made no direct comment on Prominvestbank's ability to continue in business, but made clear the bank required assistance, announcing the government would extend a one billion dollar emergency credit to Prominivestbank at 12 per cent interest - almost precisely half the cost of a loan currently prevailing in Ukraine.

The Wednesday government commitment to Prominvestbank liquidity came on the heels of an earlier half billion dollar low-cost loan from the state to the bank, that failed to stave off trouble.

Prominivestbank is generally considered one of Ukraine's more experienced and better-managed loan institutions. The bank as of July held some 5.3 billion dollars in assets, accounting for roughly four per cent of reserves within Ukraine's entire banking industry.

The international financial crisis has slammed Ukraine's export-dependant metals manufacturing, construction, chemicals, and agricultural industries by doubling the cost of domestic credit, and simultaneously demolishing demand in international commodity markets. (dpa)