The funds provided under the swap line were cheaper than the extremely wide market price at the time. As a result, Australian based banks availed themselves of this and in a number of cases on-lent the funds to banks in other jurisdictions. The provision of these funds globally alleviated the strains in the swap market and the spread declined.
Once it declined below the price of the swap line, demand in Australia dried up and the facility was no longer offered here, although it continued to attract demand for a longer period of time in other markets.