On November 7, 2008, Bloomberg filed a lawsuit seeking access to documents detailing, which banks borrowed money from the Federal Reserve. Since that time both the Fed and the banks have fought releasing this information. Why? Well some have argued that the amount of money loaned exceeds the reported $2 Trillion acknowledged by the Federal Reserve by Tens of Trillions of dollars.
This argument is completely unfounded but it does make you think when you hear the Federal Reserve's argument against the release of this information. The Fed argued in the case that disclosure of the documents threatens to stigmatize borrowers and cause them “severe and irreparable competitive injury,” discouraging banks in distress from seeking help.
This argument is completely unfounded but it does make you think when you hear the Federal Reserve's argument against the release of this information. The Fed argued in the case that disclosure of the documents threatens to stigmatize borrowers and cause them “severe and irreparable competitive injury,” discouraging banks in distress from seeking help.
Why would these banks be stigmatized by borrowing a measly $2 Trillion? We know for a fact that Bank of America according to its 2009 10K borrowed a total of $45 Billion of TARP money. At the time BOA had assets totalling $2.2 Trillion. Ladies and gentlemen that means that the loan was only for 2% of BOA's total assets. Personally I wish my student loans only totaled 2% of my assets. If that were true I would be worth $3.3 Million.
Something is rotten on Maiden lane and I smell a cover-up.
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve Board sought to delay the court-ordered release of documents identifying banks that might have failed without the U.S. government bailout while it considers an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Fed asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York yesterday to delay implementation of a ruling that compels the central bank to release the documents.
“The stay is necessary to permit the board to consult with the Department of Justice regarding an appeal to the Supreme Court,” Fed spokesman David Skidmore said.
The appeals court on Aug. 20 denied the Fed’s request to reconsider its decision requiring it to release records of the $2 trillion U.S. loan program.
