Court Rules Fed Must Reveal Details Of Secret $2 Trillion Bank Loan Program

bloomberg.com:

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

Read the whole story: bloomberg.com

Comments

[joebhed]

03:48 PM on 03/22/2010

what?
is sonofam on vacation?
And diogenes?

[WhatDaBleep]

09:56 AM on 03/22/2010

The Fed will tie this up in court until the next republiKan president and then it will all go away.

[PhilipTaylor]

03:43 AM on 03/20/2010

FED must disclose firms that might have collapsed without Largest US Bailout Ever!

FED must release records of $2Trillion loan program after 2008 collapse of Lehman!

Appeals ruling upholds decision of lower-court judge. Watch the 5 Supremes NOW!

FED wants to hide FACTS that might stigmatize its borrowers causing injury.

How is this for INJURY:

A Federal Agency in our Government, the 0ffice of the Comptroller of the Currency, 0CC, issues a quarterly Report that has the following info:
Update to 3rd Quarter 2009

1 JPM $79Trillion in Toxic Derivatives – Down $2 Trillion
2 BofA $75Trillion – Down $3 Trillion
3 G0LDMAN $50Trillion – Up $2 Trillion
4 M0RGAN $42Trillion – Up $3 Trillion
5 C1T1GROUP $34.5Trillion – Up $2.5 Trillion

http://www.occ.gov/ftp/release/2009-161a.pdf
It is on page 23!

As you can clearly see 3 of the 5 BANKSTERS are Increasing their HIDDEN TOXIC WASTE by $TRILLIONS in a Quarter!

[porsche996]

03:27 AM on 03/20/2010

Why does anyone buy insurance policies that pay off only if the U.S. goes bankrupt?

[PhilipTaylor]

04:08 AM on 03/20/2010

PURE EV1L!

[Carolab]

01:17 AM on 03/20/2010

"Interesting" that Goldman wasn't one of the banks that joined with the Fed.

March 17, 2010 article in NewsWeek asks:

Who is betting on U.S. sovereign default and why? Who wins if we default?

Excerpt:

According to the Bureau of Public Debt, there is $8.15 trillion in U.S. government debt owned by the public. In addition, now that the United States has taken control of the failed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government is formally standing behind the debts of those two entities, which surpass $5 trillion. Now, let's imagine a world in which the U.S. government, lacking the will to tax or cut spending, can't scrape up the cash to stay current on interest payments and can't roll over debt as it matures. That would trigger a huge decline in the value of treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The balance sheet of every U.S. financial institution would be decimated. There wouldn't be a single solvent bank, insurer, or company in the US. The large multinational banks, which have significant U.S. operations and plenty of this stuff on their books, would likewise be wiped out. Oh, and foreign holders of U.S. debt—see this list topped by China and Japan—would be toast, too.

In this dystopia, who, precisely, would be able to make good on the insurance sold on U.S. government debt? Who would bail out the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235061

[Carolab]

01:23 AM on 03/20/2010

There is a very small CDS market for U.S. default.

__________________

By definition, you can't collect an insurance payment on an entity that's too big too fail. That may help explain why the sovereign CDS market on U.S. debt is comparatively small. According to the Depository Trust and Clearing Company, there are about 415 contracts outstanding on about $2.25 billion in U.S. debt. That's tiny in comparison to the amount of total U.S. debt and in comparison to the market as a whole. According to DTCC, CDS on U.S. government debt are the 98th-largest position in the market today, between CDS on CenturyTel and Wal-Mart. By comparisons, investors have bought insurance worth $25 billion on Italy's debt, $15.6 billion on Spain's debt, and $6.4 billion on Bank of America's.

_______________

However, why would anyone bet on it?

I guess with Merkel holding up a Greek bailout, the markers on Spain and Italy might pay off.

I see Bank of America is right on schedule. We are supposed to only be left with three megabanks when this is all done: JPM, Goldman and Citi.

[PhilipTaylor]

04:19 AM on 03/20/2010

Why Citi?

[Peter-and-the-Wolf]

01:10 AM on 03/20/2010

The name and shame game isn't gonna work. We need to change the structure of the system, no shame mostly now-defunct corporations.

[Steel Light]

12:52 AM on 03/20/2010

Sure. Good luck with that. And audit the Fed properly while you're at it.

[thefutureisnow]

11:03 PM on 03/19/2010

Here's the good news: It may take months, maybe even a year or two, but eventually, something's gotta give. Why? I don't see this one dyin'. Esp. with the economy as it is. Translate: Waaaay too many people waking up at this point. We might not yet quite know what to do, but it's like taking the red pill...can't go backwards.
Our view of the corruption...just keeps widening and widening and deepening and deepening.
Something...will give.
Thanks to all who've posted here.
You weren't afraid to take the red pill.

[porsche996]

10:01 PM on 03/19/2010

It simply does not matter about what any court, even the Supreme Court orders the FED to do...they will not comply. I predict that Benanke will comply with this judge's order right after pigs actually fly out of his a s s, and only if someone witnesses it of course.

[rbchilds]

04:33 PM on 03/21/2010

I was thinking lightning bolts but pigs work.

[Kevin Atlanta]

09:11 PM on 03/19/2010

Look at the sudden rapid prosperity of China, India and Brazil and you'll know where the Oligarchy sent the cash they printed and stole from you.
Destroy the FED.
Restore America.

[OB-GYN]

05:52 PM on 03/19/2010

Listen to Mr. Bernanke's voice on testimony with Rep Alan Grayson (D-Fl) and you may understand why this ruling is so important. Clearly the Federal Reserve is shaken:

Alan Grayson asks Ben Bernanke where $500billion went:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLAF2R2UwHA&feature=related”

Good work, Bloomberg News Inc. on your original FOIA request.

[Ozarks]

05:42 PM on 03/19/2010

Bernanke and Geithner will be exposed. Those worthless Wall Street toadies days in Obama Admin will be numbered when all the secret correspondence, emails , memos , letters are exposed. Look for Cuomo to indict and Spitzer to be reborn on top of all this corrupt inside dealing of the FED & SEC with their Wall Street buddies, who they bailed out on the taxpayers back/

[dumboldfarmer]

05:26 PM on 03/19/2010

I will believe it only when I see it.

[mrjames1]

04:59 AM on 03/20/2010

This was over exactly six months ago, with the great disap/earing FOIA request

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/decision-on-disclosure-of_n_290112.html?page=2&show_comment_id=31238624#comment_31238624

Its all just smoke and mirrors now

[gerbstat]

05:21 PM on 03/19/2010

Since some of the bank executives called to the White House at the time of this "loan" indicate that they were forced to take the bailout funds despite their solvency, I would welcome the release of this information. We will then have the facts on whether the bailout was indeed necessary.

I expect that some of the banks will indeed be shown to be in serious trouble, while others were quite healthy. The price to pay is that this knowledge will probably do just what the Fed claims and cause a huge financial panic affecting all the institutions.

I recall an executive of one of JPM's legacy banks stating firmly several years ago that they would not engage in derivative trading or arbitrage. Both NBD and First National of Chicago were conservatively managed, and I expect we will find that Mr. Dimon did not require the bailout as he stated.

[ArmchairRevolutionary]

04:37 PM on 03/19/2010

We will now get to see if our supreme court is completely bought and paid for. If they overturn this, you will know that they are 100% on the take.

[OB-GYN]

05:58 PM on 03/19/2010

Yes, will they be transparent in being bought and paid for? Hmmm.

[porsche996]

10:14 PM on 03/19/2010

Yeah cause that's doubtful and unproven? I mean until this case hits the court....we'll have no suspicions that they are the puppets of the plutocracy? I predict that they can order Benanke to comply and he will point out that the SCOTUS has no jurisdiction over the FED.

Simply that...they can still give the appearance of being in integrity and lose nothing...they cannot compel the FED to comply. Look at the Law that enabled and created the FED in 1913 and you'll know why Woodrow Wilson characterized his signing of the Bill as the end of his country.

[mrjames1]

04:56 AM on 03/20/2010

The answer to armchair can be made with a simple link to the first time this tried to see the light of day:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/decision-on-disclosure-of_n_290112.html?page=2&show_comment_id=31238624#comment_31238624

six months ago a FOIA was brought, in manhattan, for disclosure of this exact 2 trillion dollars, the case...strangely...disappeared. See if you can find out what happened with the decision E/ena Ka/gan (so/icitor gen) was supposed to give. Really try.

Even with at least 15 viable candidates for the next supreme ct justice, each pulling out every stop and connection to get the job of a lifetime, which ensures their legacy forever, odds are very high it will be Ms Ka/gan, as she likely earned her 'chip' just six months ago.

It has been over for a long time now...