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Fed Refuses to Disclose Recipients of $2 Trillion
Who’s the fed lending money to? Bloomberg wants to know.

December 15, 2008
In an article on Bloomberg.com we explore one of the key definitions of the current administrations mantras. Don’t let the public in on any secrets. Bloomberg asked the Fed to “disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.”

However it seems that the Fed has other ideas, and is refusing the request. The Fed says they regarding any information it holds as trade secrets.

The banks and institutions which are borrowing the money don’t want the information to come out as it is in there interest to keep potently bad information from making its way to the market in the form of short selling.

But it’s the US Taxpayers money, and we all have a right to know where it’s going. Does the health of the banking sector and individual Banks mean more then that of the US citizen. Well in the short-term it seems it might. If they can hold out another 45 days it will become someone else’s problem, and they can simply walk-away.

Breakdown: Request
· Nov 7th, Bloomberg filled a suit under the Freedom of Information Act.
· Dec 7th, Federal Reserve refuses the request for information
· Fed saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information (bullshit!!)
· Fed confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to the requests


“The Freedom of Information Act obliges federal agencies to make government documents available to the press and public. The Bloomberg lawsuit, filed in New York, doesn’t seek money damages.”

The Fed does not want us to know what they are holding; otherwise we would know what the potential losses are.

Breakdown: Current TARP
· Fed lending exceeded $2 trillion for the first time Nov. 6
· Lending rose by 138 percent, or $1.23 trillion, in the 12 weeks since Sept. 14

Breakdown: Congress
· Congress is demanding more transparency from the Fed and Treasury on bailout
· Dec. 10 hearings, Rep. David Scott (Georgia D) said Americans had “been bamboozled”

Breakdown: Past Request Details
· May 21 Bloomberg asks Fed to provide data on collateral posted from April 4 to May 20.
· June 19 Fed says it needs until July 3 to search documents and determine whether it would make them public.
· Bloomberg didn’t receive a formal response that would let it file an appeal within the legal time limit.
· Oct. 25, Bloomberg filed another request, expanding the range of when the collateral was posted. It filed suit Nov. 7.

“In response to Bloomberg’s request, the Fed said the U.S. is facing an unprecedented crisis in which “loss in confidence in and between financial institutions can occur with lightning speed and devastating effects.”