the audit

Fed Slaps Down Bloomberg FOIA

Bloomberg keeps the heat on the Federal Reserve to disclose to whom it’s given $2 trillion in loans. The news service sued last month to try to force the disclosure. But the Fed keeps stonewalling. The Fed responded Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and […]

December 12, 2008

Bloomberg keeps the heat on the Federal Reserve to disclose to whom it’s given $2 trillion in loans. The news service sued last month to try to force the disclosure.

But the Fed keeps stonewalling.

The Fed responded Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests.

“If they told us what they held, we would know the potential losses that the government may take and that’s what they don’t want us to know,” said Carlos Mendez, who oversees about $14 billion at New York-based ICP Capital LLC.

The Fed threw Bloomberg a small bone, disclosing who holds the collateral:

The Fed supplied copies of three e-mails in response to a request that it disclose the identities of those supplying data on collateral as well as their contracts.

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While the senders and recipients of the messages were revealed, the contents were erased except for two phrases identifying a vendor as “IDC.” One of the e-mails’ subject lines refers to “Interactive Data — Auction Rate Security Advisory May 1, 2008.”

While it quotes the Fed’s defense, it would have been good for Bloomberg to report what the possible harm would be of disclosing the information:

“Notwithstanding calls for enhanced transparency, the Board must protect against the substantial, multiple harms that might result from disclosure,” Jennifer J. Johnson, the secretary for the Fed’s Board of Governors, said in a letter e-mailed to Bloomberg News.

“In its considered judgment and in view of current circumstances, it would be a dangerous step to release this otherwise confidential information,” she wrote.

Though this hints at the Fed’s reasoning:

Banks oppose any release of information because that might signal weakness and spur short-selling or a run by depositors, Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, a Washington trade group, said in an interview last month.

But Bloomberg is in the right here. It would be nice if other news organizations would jump on this bandwagon.

Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR’s business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum.