Fed to Release Financial-Crisis Loan Info Thursday

The Federal Reserve will release on Thursday detailed information related to which banks borrowed money  -- and how much -- from the government during the darkest days of the financial crisis in 2008.

The information, sought by media outlets including Fox Business Network under the Freedom of Information Act, was withheld by the Fed at the time for fear of causing a run on the banks that needed to borrow money.

But Fox Business and Bloomberg News argued in lawsuits that the public had a right to know where the money went and how much was borrowed.

“It’s been a long time coming. I am very pleased that the American public will finally be able to learn who borrowed money from the Fed discount window during the financial crisis,” said attorney Steven G. Mintz, who has argued several FOIA cases on behalf of Fox Business.

An earlier ruling in favor of Fox Business was appealed by a trade group called the Clearing House Association which represents some of the biggest U.S. banks.The CHA argued in its court filing that the Fed has never revealed the identities of borrowers from its discount window, the lending facility where banks get short-term funding and the source of the 2008 emergency loans.

The CHA, which includes Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), among others, wanted the Supreme Court to decide the case.

But the Supreme Court in a ruling last week chose not to hear the case, forcing the Fed to release the information.

The Fed did not join the appeal by the CHA. The information will be released to Fox Business at 10 a.m. Thursday.