Bernanke Initiates ‘Thorough Review’ of Fed Disclosure Policy

Bernanke Initiates ‘Thorough Review’ of Fed Disclosure Policy - 2/10/2009

Home

Index of Filings

News and Press Releases

Filings

Decisions

Settlements

Litigation Activity Indices

Top Ten List

Annual/Quarterly Updates

Clearinghouse Research

Articles & Papers

Search

Related Sites

About Us

Local Rules

Sponsors

Register

_______________
Copyright © 2001
Stanford Law School

2009 News and Press Releases

SEARCH

News	News 2009
HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

HEADLINE NEWS:

Bernanke Initiates ‘Thorough Review’ of Fed Disclosure Policy
Craig Torres

Bloomberg. February 10, 2009
_________________________________________________________________________

EXCERPT: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke initiated a review of the information it provides the public after lawmakers criticized the central bank’s disclosure policies during its unprecedented balance-sheet expansion. “We at the Fed have begun a thorough review of our disclosure policies and the effectiveness of our communication,” Bernanke said. Board Vice Chairman Donald Kohn will lead a committee for the review. Bernanke has invoked emergency authority and more than doubled the size of the Fed’s balance sheet to $1.8 trillion to combat the worst credit crisis in seven decades. His moves have prompted concern the central bank is encouraging excessive risk- taking, distorting pricing in financial markets and jeopardizing the Fed’s independence. The Fed hasn’t disclosed many of the assets and participants in its programs. The Kohn panel will have a “presumption” that the public has a right to know and that “nondisclosure of information must be affirmatively justified by clearly articulated criteria for confidentiality,” he said. Bloomberg News has requested details of the Fed lending under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 7 seeing to force disclosure. Bernanke also said the Fed is preparing a Web site where the public can find more details and analysis about the Fed lending effort. He defended the programs, saying they helped restore liquidity and buffer risk during a severe credit crisis.

Back to News page | Back to Archived News 2009 page | Back to Top

�