NEW YORK/FRANKFURT, Jan. 30 (Reuters) – Major central banks around the world said they will stop the emergency US dollar lending introduced during the financial crisis, reflecting growing confidence the financial system is returning to health. The decision, announced in coordinated statements, is a significant milestone in the global financial crisis and marks the first unified retraction of central banks' extraordinary support for financial markets.

The European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank, as well as the central banks of Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Sweden said they will let their dollar ''swap'' arrangements with the US Federal Reserve expire on Feb. 1.

Demand for the dollar swap lines, through which the US Federal Reserve provided billions of dollars to overseas financial firms via foreign central banks has fallen dramatically as market conditions improve around the world.

''These lines, which were established to counter pressures in global funding markets, are no longer needed given the improvements seen in the functioning of financial markets over the past year,'' the European Central Bank said in a statement.

''Central banks will continue to cooperate as needed.''

The central banks' statements coincided with the Fed's policy statement following the close of its two-day January meeting, in which it said swap lines will end as planned on Feb 1.

The Fed's policy-setting panel opened swap lines with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank in December 2007. As the financial crisis worsened, the Fed also set swap lines with the central banks of Japan, Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore to ease dollar funding shortages.