Bloomberg Wins FOI Case Against Fed

The Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, according to a federal court ruling reported by Bloomberg News.

Reporters David Glovin and Bob Van Voris write, “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.

“The U.S. Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, ’sets forth no basis for the exemption the Board asks us to read into it,’ U.S. Circuit Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote in the opinion. ‘If the Board believes such an exemption would better serve the national interest, it should ask Congress to amend the statute.’”

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