Saturday, March 20, 2010

Federal Reserve Must Disclose Bank Bailout Records (Update5) - Bloomberg.com

The Fed is right, but the court is righter.

There must be some way to solve this problem, but it'll take some fresh legislating.

* * * * * J B K * * * * *

San Francisco

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, a federal appeals court said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today that the Fed must release records of the unprecedented $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched primarily after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The ruling upholds a decision of a lower-court judge, who in August ordered that the information be released.

The Fed had argued that disclosure of the documents threatens to stigmatize borrowers and cause them "severe and irreparable competitive injury," discouraging banks in distress from seeking help. A three-judge panel of the appeals court rejected that argument in a unanimous decision.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2rzjENZQV5k