Info à faire passer

[pierreyves]

Sur le site BB

  Citation

Bloomberg Sues Fed to Force Disclosure of Collateral (Update1)

By Mark Pittman

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg News asked a U.S. court today to force the Federal Reserve to disclose securities the central bank is accepting on behalf of American taxpayers as collateral for $1.5 trillion of loans to banks.

The lawsuit is based on the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to make government documents available to the press and the public, according to the complaint. The suit, filed in New York, doesn't seek money damages.

``The American taxpayer is entitled to know the risks, costs and methodology associated with the unprecedented government bailout of the U.S. financial industry,'' said Matthew Winkler, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a unit of New York-based Bloomberg LP, in an e-mail.

The Fed has lent $1.5 trillion to banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., through programs such as its discount window, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility. Collateral is an asset pledged to a lender in the event that a loan payment isn't made.

The Fed made the loans under 11 programs in response to the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The total doesn't include an additional $700 billion approved by Congress in a bailout package.

Fed's Position

Bloomberg News on May 21 asked the Fed to provide data on the collateral posted between April 4 and May 20. The central bank said on June 19 that it needed until July 3 to search out the documents and determine whether it would make them public. Bloomberg never received a formal response that would enable it to file an appeal. On Oct. 25, Bloomberg filed another request and has yet to receive a reply.

The Fed staff planned to recommend that Bloomberg's request be denied under an exemption protecting ``confidential commercial information,'' according to Alison Thro, the Fed's FOIA Service Center senior counsel. The Fed in Washington has about 30 pages pertaining to the request, Thro said today before the filing of the suit. The bulk of the documents Bloomberg sought are at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which she said isn't subject to the freedom of information law.

``This type of information is considered highly sensitive, and it would remain so for some time in the future,'' Thro said.

The Fed didn't give Bloomberg a formal response because ``it got caught in the vortex of the things going on here,'' said Michael O'Rourke, another member of the Fed's FOIA staff.

Thro declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The case is Bloomberg LP v. Federal Reserve, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

[Jesrad]

Bref, ils veulent retirer son voile à la mariée, histoire de voir dans quel état de décomposition elle est ?

[h16]

Quoi, encore une histoire de voile ?

Blague à part, ça pue, cette histoire.

[pierreyves]

  h16 a dit :

Quoi, encore une histoire de voile ?

Blague à part, ça pue, cette histoire.

Je trouve que c'est une excellente nouvelle. L'arrivée des projecteurs médiatiques et l'intérêt des américains sur les comptes de la Fed va mettre en évidence les ententes entre la Fed et les banques.

Bref, je vous invite vraiment à faire suivre (surtout auprès de nos amis USiens, qui sont les premiers concernés) !

Btw, Bloomberg a pas peur sur ce coup là !

[h16]

Bloomberg est le maire de NYC. Ca donne du poids, je suppose.

[Vincemobile]

  h16 a dit :

Bloomberg est le maire de NYC. Ca donne du poids, je suppose.

Mais il prend de gros risques… L'entente est de toutes façons assez évidente même si au point où on en était, je vois mal comment la FED aurait pu laisser faire faillite tous ces établissements.

Autre exemple d'entente qui risque de faire scandale sous peu : la mise à mort de Lehman Brothers par Paulson, ancien de Goldman Sachs, conseillé et entouré par des anciens de Goldman Sachs. Les mauvaises langues disent que Paulson a choisi Lehman comme exemple histoire de faire plaisir à ses anciens collègues…

[pierreyves]

Bloomberg récidive:

  Citation

The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

``The collateral is not being adequately disclosed, and that's a big problem,'' said Dan Fuss, vice chairman of Boston- based Loomis Sayles & Co., where he co-manages $17 billion in bonds. ``In a liquid market, this wouldn't matter, but we're not. The market is very nervous and very thin.''

Bloomberg News has requested details of the Fed lending under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 7 seeking to force disclosure.

(… la suite sur le site de BB…)

Suite de l'article sur Bloomberg

[pierreyves]

Encore aujourd'hui, un article d'agit prop' ou presque:

Article du jour

  Citation

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Members of Congress, taxpayers and investors urged the Federal Reserve to provide details of almost $2 trillion in emergency loans and the collateral it has accepted to protect against losses.

At least five Republican members of Congress yesterday called for the Fed to disclose which financial institutions are borrowing taxpayer money and what troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. More than 300 more investors and taxpayers also pressed for more disclosure in e-mails and interviews with Bloomberg News.

``There cannot be accountability in government and in our financial institutions without transparency,'' Texas Senator John Cornyn said in a statement. ``Many of the financial problems we are facing today are the direct result of too much secrecy and too little accountability.''

House Republican Leader John Boehner and Republican Representatives Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Scott Garrett of New Jersey and Walter Jones of North Carolina also are pressing Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to elaborate on the Fed's emergency lending. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in the separate $700 billion bailout of the banking system that was approved by Congress last month.

Bloomberg News has sought records of the Fed lending under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 7 seeking to force disclosure.

[…]

``Our government officials never seem to be held accountable for their actions and the American taxpayers are always the ones to pay the price,'' said Kathy Cunningham, a legal secretary in San Angelo, Texas.

``It's pretty obvious the government has sold us out,'' said Jeff Pasko, a quality control engineer in Minneapolis.

[Nick de Cusa]

Marrant comme ça ouvre sa gueule, un politicien, quand c'est dans l'opposition.

[Jesrad]

Je crois surtout que ce sont ceux qui s'étaient opposés jusqu'au bout au plan Paulson, et qui risquent de sauter à cause du passage d'icelui. Techniquement ils sont dans l'opposition depuis que les Démocrates ont une majorité dans la Chambre.