diff --git a/node-api/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/nodeapi/internal/persistence/CordaPersistence.kt b/node-api/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/nodeapi/internal/persistence/CordaPersistence.kt
index 0db8ac43b1..51ba4eeb40 100644
--- a/node-api/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/nodeapi/internal/persistence/CordaPersistence.kt
+++ b/node-api/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/nodeapi/internal/persistence/CordaPersistence.kt
@@ -227,6 +227,15 @@ class CordaPersistence(
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Executes given statement in the scope of transaction with the transaction level specified at the creation time.
+     * @param statement to be executed in the scope of this transaction.
+     * @param recoverableFailureTolerance number of transaction commit retries for SQL while SQL exception is encountered.
+     */
+    fun <T> transaction(recoverableFailureTolerance: Int, statement: DatabaseTransaction.() -> T): T {
+        return transaction(defaultIsolationLevel, recoverableFailureTolerance, false, statement)
+    }
+
     private fun <T> inTopLevelTransaction(isolationLevel: TransactionIsolationLevel, recoverableFailureTolerance: Int,
                                           recoverAnyNestedSQLException: Boolean, statement: DatabaseTransaction.() -> T): T {
         var recoverableFailureCount = 0
diff --git a/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/internal/AbstractNode.kt b/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/internal/AbstractNode.kt
index f1feeb7f5d..cbda649ab1 100644
--- a/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/internal/AbstractNode.kt
+++ b/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/internal/AbstractNode.kt
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ abstract class AbstractNode<S>(val configuration: NodeConfiguration,
         }
 
         // Do all of this in a database transaction so anything that might need a connection has one.
-        return database.transaction {
+        return database.transaction(recoverableFailureTolerance = 0) {
             networkParametersStorage.setCurrentParameters(signedNetParams, trustRoot)
             identityService.loadIdentities(nodeInfo.legalIdentitiesAndCerts)
             attachments.start()