Fed Begs for Secrecy on Failed Bank Bail Out – Atlas Shrugs
These guys have a great take on this whole situation. The government beg to keep secret what we are spending money on, yet are instantly happy to release any national secrets which help defend our country.
So, these banks, that are in such poor shape that they have to sell themselves to the federal government for bailout money, are worried that people will know what they did? What’s next? Maybe the Treasury should ask for that too.
This was all caused by the bank legislation that the liberals passed under Clinton, forcing banks to take home loans from people who couldn’t pay those loans, so that "everyone could have a house". Idiots.
Now it seems the FEDS don’t want you to know.
Fed urges secrecy on banks in bailout programs
* Fed urges judge not to enforce order pending appeal
* Banks say disclosure could cause loss of confidence
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve asked a federal judge not to enforce her order that it reveal the names of the banks that have participated in its emergency lending programs and the sums they received, saying such disclosure would threaten the companies and the economy.
The central bank filed its request on Wednesday, two days after Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of Bloomberg News, which had sought information under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Preska said the Fed failed to show that revealing the names would stigmatize the banks and result in "imminent competitive harm." The Fed asked the judge not to require disclosure while it readies an appeal.
"Immediate release of these documents will cause irreparable harm to these institutions and to the board’s ability to effectively manage the current, and any future, financial crisis," the central bank argued.
It added that the public interest favors a delay, citing a potential for "significant harms that could befall not only private companies, but the economy as a whole" if the information were disclosed.
The Clearing House Association LLC, which represents banks, in a separate filing supported the Fed’s call for a delay. It said speculation that banks’ liquidity is drying up could cause runs on deposits, and trading partners to demand collateral.
"Survival can depend on the ephemeral nature of public confidence," Clearing House general counsel Norman Nelson wrote. "Experience in the banking industry has shown that when customers and market participants hear negative rumors about a bank, negative consequences inevitably flow."
In other words, con the people and lull them into a false sense of confidence while you pull the rug out from under them and rob them blind.
Fed Begs for Secrecy on Failed Bank Bail Out – Atlas Shrugs
