Fed Loses Bid to Review Bailout Disclosure Ruling

[kpete]

Source: CNBC

Fed Loses Bid to Review Bailout Disclosure Ruling
Published: Monday, 23 Aug 2010 | 4:39 PM ET

The Federal Reserve will have to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if it wants to avoid having to disclose details of its emergency lending programs to banks bailed out with taxpayer money during the financial crisis.

The U.S. 2d Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Fed's motion on Friday to rehear the case in which Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News and News Corp's Fox News Network sought information on the U.S. central bank's emergency lending programs that began in late 2007.

The programs, designed to shore up the financial markets, more than doubled the Fed's balance sheet to well over $2 trillion, especially in the wake of the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.

The Fed maintained that disclosing the information sought by the news outlets under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) could stigmatize banks, causing a loss of confidence that could lead to deposit runs and the demise of some lenders. The Clearing House Association, a group of major U.S. and European banks, supported the Fed's efforts.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/38820893

[bemildred]

1. Good, public money means public access. nt

[lark]

2. Hmm, this should be interesting

You'd think the SCOTUS would naturally side with the banks and the FED, being the fat cat corporatists that most of them are, but then they'd have to side against FAUX NEWS, which they also love. I do think, though, that their greater allegiance will be to the banks. Hope I'm wrong.