The Fed to announce banks that received loans during financial crisis
The Fed to announce banks that received loans during financial crisis
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
JEREMY HOBSON: Well first it was Wikileaks and the diplomats. Today, Wall Street banks will get their day in the sun. The Federal Reserve will release the names of all the institutions that were loaned money during the financial crisis. Under orders from Congress, the Fed will post the names on its website at midday today.
Marketplace’s Gregory Warner is with us live now with more. Good morning.
GREGORY WARNER: Good morning.
HOBSON: So Greg, any surprises expected today?
WARNER: Well the names we know already. But this web posting will probably spell out just how much support the that central bank handed to banks like Bank of America and also to private companies like General Electric that asked for help after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. I should mention that the money we’re talking about here is not just the $700 billion Wall Street bailout that got all the headlines. It’s also other government loan programs, mortgage buyouts and rescues that propped up the economy. That’s over $3 trillion of emergency aid that’ll be accounted for.
HOBSON: And a lot of Wall Street types I’m sure are going to be paying close attention to this. Does it matter to the rest of us?
WARNER: This is politics, right? And the Federal Reserve is under greater political scrutiny than it has been in the last three decades. Some republicans have called for legislation to give Congress more input into the Fed’s decisions. And as you know that criticism got a lot louder after last month’s announcement the Fed was going on their $600 billion bond buying spree. Bernie Sanders, the Senator from Vermont behind the legislation that resulted in today’s posting of the names, says that this is about ending the “veil of secrecy” around the Fed. But let’s face it, it could chip away some of the Fed’s independence as well.
HOBSON: OK well I’m sure a lot of people will be heading to that website around noon today. Marketplace’s Gregory Warner, thanks.
WARNER: Thanks, Jeremy.
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