Federal Reserve Fighting to Keep Its Bailout Secrets

The Federal Reserve is trying to ensure that what happens at the Fed, stays at the Fed.

In the first of two brewing legal battles, the Federal Reserve is trying to avoid disclosing the details of the $2 trillion U.S. loan program that kept banks afloat after Lehman Brothers Holdings collapsed in September 2008. Bloomberg News sued the Fed under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking the names of those institutions that were given loans under the program and details about how much they received. On Aug. 24, 2009, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the release of the information, but postponed implementation of her ruling pending an appeal; the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan will hear the case today.