MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Central Bank of Russia will auction 400 billion rubles ($15 billion) in unsecured loans on Thursday, the bank's press service said on Wednesday.

The minimum lending rate will be 8.5%.

The auction will be held on the MICEX. The lowest bid has been set at one million rubles

More than 80 Russian banks received loans worth 383 billion rubles ($14.7 billion) on Monday in the first collateral-free auction aimed at easing liquidity problems among Russia's financial institutions.

The auction held by the Central Bank offered loans to over 80 banks with strong credit ratings at an average weighted rate of 9.89 % per annum.

The Central Bank's liquidity auctions are expected to replace those held by the Finance Ministry, which provided liquidity to a small number of banks, and helped the country's banking system cope with a shortage of cash amid the ongoing global financial crisis.