Judge Orders Federal Reserve to ID Loan Recipients

The Federal Reserve Bank must identify the companies that have accessed its emergency loan programs, a federal judge ruled this week.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by Bloomberg News, which, along with numerous other news organizations, had sought details about the companies that borrowed money under a swathe of 11 different lending programs.

The Federal Reserve had refused to provide the names or terms of the deals, arguing that confidentiality was critical if the program was to meet the goal of injecting liquidity into the market. Because of the stigma attached to the programs, the fear was that banks would stay away strictly to avoid a public relations headache.

U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska said the Federal Reserve "improperly withheld agency records" by "conducting an inadequate search" after Bloomberg News filed a Freedom of Information Act request. She ordered the bank to turn over the requested documents within five days.

The ruling is a rare victory for reporters covering the bailout. In two separate cases earlier this summer, judges denied requests by news organizations for the same information.