Fed Lifts Veil of Secrecy
December 1, 2010
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday detailed some 21,000 transactions involving an estimated $3.3 trillion in loans and other assistance to banks and corporations during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose provision in the Wall Street reform law required the Fed disclosure, said, "After years of stonewalling by the Fed, the American people are finally learning the incredible and jaw-dropping details of the Fed's multi-trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and corporate America. Perhaps most surprising is the huge sum that went to bail out foreign private banks and corporations. As a result of this disclosure, other members of Congress and I will be taking a very extensive look at all aspects of how the Federal Reserve functions." Sanders introduced legislation to force the Fed to reveal borrowers after Bernanke rebuffed his request, made during a Senate Budget Committee hearing, to identify the firms.
To visit the Federal Reserve Web site, click here.
To watch the exchange between Sanders and Bernanke, click here.
To read the Wall Street Journal story about Sanders' leadership on this, click here.
