Washington/Zurich - Four key central banks agreed on Monday to provide foreign currency to the Federal Reserve should it need to pump liquidity into financial institutions, many of which are in danger of collapse due to a lack of capital.

Should the need arise, the Fed would be able to access up to 285 billion dollars in euro, yen, sterling and Swiss francs through the new swap agreements, which come on top of previous commitments with the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.

"Central banks continue to work together and are taking steps as appropriate to foster stability in global financial markets," read a joint statement, noting that each central bank had a mirror agreement allowing it to draw US dollars.

The US central bank has extended swap lines with a total of 14 central banks since the financial crisis exploded on the scene with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September.

The deals, in effect until October 30, provide the Fed with swap lines of 30 billion pounds (44 billion dollars), 80 billion euros (107 billion dollars), 10 trillion yen (99 billion dollars), and 40 billion Swiss francs (35 billion dollars). (dpa)