Sweden's central bank said Wednesday it would borrow 3.0 billion euros from the European Central Bank to bolster Swedish finances as lenders suffer from exposure to the crisis-stricken Baltics.

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"The Riksbank is now borrowing three billion euros (4.24 billion dollars) from the ECB to ensure that the Riksbank will have a sufficiently large foreign currency reserve during the period the borrowing takes place," it said in a statement.

"As a substantial part of the Swedish banks' funding is in foreign currency, the Riksbank needs to have a sufficiently large foreign exchange reserve to be able to meet a potential need from the banks."

The move came amid mounting speculation that the financial crisis could force Latvia to devalue its currency, the lat, which is pegged to the euro. This would cause heavy losses for Swedish banks there.

The Riksbank had earlier asked to borrow the equivalent of 100 billion kronor (9.2 billion euros, 13 billion dollars) in foreign currency from the Swedish National Debt Office to restore its foreign currency reserve.

It said 65 billion kronor would be borrowed before the summer and the remaining 35 billion kronor in the autumn.

The European Central Bank (ECB) credit is a form of bridge loan until the full 100 billion is borrowed.

Sweden, a European Union member, borrowed the money from the ECB even though it is not part of the eurozone, having voted against adopting the single European currency in a 2003 referendum.

Public support in Sweden for the euro has however increased since the start of the financial crisis, polls have suggested, as the Swedish krona has lost almost a quarter of its value against the euro in recent months.

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has ruled out a new euro referendum under his centre-right government's mandate that expires in September 2010 but has suggested the issue could be discussed after that.

Sweden has had an agreement with the ECB in place since December 2007 allowing it to borrow up to 10 billion euros if needed to facilitate the functioning of financial markets.