What's happent to the $2 trillion in loans given by the FED,
Bloomberg wants to know and so do we.
last 96 years. And now they are afraid if they let people know,
they might panic ?? I heard that the so called stress tests were
going just fine.
I think they don;t want people to know because it they did, or
rather congress did - then congress might come down on these
banks and bankers with hob nailed boots. Which they should.
C
"The Board's arguments are based onAnd the FED has been resolutely silent on this point.
wispy speculation, lack evidentiary support and
are contradicted by economic theory," said
Thomas Golden and Jared Cohen, lawyers with New
York-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, in a
motion asking the judge to require disclosure.
"These government actions, which have been
shrouded in secrecy, are at the heart of
Bloomberg's FOIA requests," the
attorneys said.
Members of Congress also have demanded more
information than President Barack Obama and
former President George W. Bush have disclosed
on the bailout of the U.S. financial industry.
Congress approved $700 billion to bolster banks,
whose losses on mortgage securities and home
loans contributed to the recession.
Of course we all know how well that's worked out in the
'Within Their Discretion'
"We've all got a stake in how the
government is managing this program," said
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the
Arlington, Virginia-based Reporters Committee
for Freedom of the Press. "The information
is definitely something that is within their
discretion to disclose."
Fed officials are considering steps to provide
the public with more information about emergency
programs, people familiar with the matter said
April 14. The Federal Reserve, consisting of
seven governors in Washington and 12 regional
banks, was established in 1913 and charged by
Congress with ensuring low inflation, maximum
employment and a stable financial system.
last 96 years. And now they are afraid if they let people know,
they might panic ?? I heard that the so called stress tests were
going just fine.
I think they don;t want people to know because it they did, or
rather congress did - then congress might come down on these
banks and bankers with hob nailed boots. Which they should.
C
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I believe most of those loans were short term and have been paid back, and then money loaned out again, etc. So $2T is the total over a couple of years or so, not the total outstanding now. It's not clear what the total outstanding amount for a given day, week, month would be. I suspect it's a whole lot less, maybe a few 100B.
That's just my general sense from parsing various public reports. Really, there is no good reason I can suppose for the Fed not to provide general summaries of amounts coming and going on a monthly basis. They don't have to identify all the borrowers nor the individual loan amounts to me, but I think they should do a private briefing for Geithner et al who should share some of that with Congress.
Of course Geithner et al have been blowing off Warren at COP, and that's an official oversight body, so it won't be easy to twist the arm of the Fed to allow unofficial oversight.
April 17, 2009 12:18 AM | Reply | Permalink