Fed Lifts Veil of Secrecy (December 1, 2010)
“Almost two years ago I asked Chairman Bernanke to tell the American people which financial institutions and 
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), author of Fed disclosure provision
Lifting the Veil of Fed Secrecy
Who Got Secret Fed Bailouts?
The Big Winners
• Goldman Sachs received nearly $600 billion
• Morgan Stanley received nearly $2 trillion
• Citigroup received $1.8 trillion
• Bear Stearns received nearly $1 trillion
• Merrill Lynch received some $1.5 trillion
• Deutsche Bank, a German lender, sold the Fed more than $290 billion worth of mortgage securities
• Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank, sold the Fed more than $287 billion in mortgage bonds
Also receiving secret Fed bailouts
• General Electric
• McDonald’s
• Caterpillar
• Harley Davidson
• Toyota
• Verizon
Release: Sanders Statement on New Federal Reserve Lending Disclosures (March 31, 2011)
WASHINGTON, March 31 – Under court order, the Federal Reserve today identified more banks that took loans during the financial crisis using a once-secret system that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called “welfare for the rich and powerful.”
A Sanders provision in the Wall Street reform law already had forced the Fed last Dec. 1 to name banks that took trillions of dollars in emergency loans during the crisis.
“The Federal Reserve bailout was welfare for the rich and powerful and you-are-on-your-own rugged individualism for everyone else,” Sanders said. “The information released by the Fed today should never have been kept secret. This money does not belong to the Federal Reserve; it belongs to the American people. I applaud Bloomberg News, Fox News and others for their success in lifting another veil of secrecy at the Fed.”
Sanders said the latest disclosure raises questions about conflicts of interest. While Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, served on the board of directors of the New York Fed, in one month alone, April of 2008, JPMorgan Chase received a combined $313 billion in Fed loans directly benefitting JP Morgan Chase and other financial institutions.
“This is an obvious conflict of interest on its face that must be investigated as part of the independent audit that my amendment requires to be completed this summer. When JPMorgan Chase was telling the world about their great financial success, it seems like they were using the Fed’s discount window as a giant piggy bank.”
Sanders’ provision in the Wall Street reform bill required the central bank to disclose which financial institutions, corporations, and foreign central banks took more than $3 trillion in what were secret loans.
His amendment also directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct the first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve. The findings of that investigation by the non-partisan research arm of Congress are due to be made public this July.
Usage of Federal Reserve Credit and Liquidity Facilities
MSNBC w/ Cenk: Matt Taibbi – Magic Money Printing Machine at The Fed
Need I say more?????
I’ll just add this: Because April is National Poetry Month, I thought I’d write a song parody to go with this post. I dedicate it to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Guess Where Our Money Goes?: A Song Parody by Elaine Magliaro
(To be sung to the tune of That’s Where My Money Goes…to Buy My Baby Clothes)
Guess where our money goes? Not where you might suppose!
It goes to millionaires with big yachts and grand chateaux.
They’re worth their weight in gold. The rest of us keep getting rolled.
Hey, hey! That’s where our money goes!
Bernanke is in the tank for Goldman Sachs and Citibank,
GE and Verizon, too. They got bailout funds—it’s true!
The Fed gave them lots of dough—tried to keep it a secret though.
Hey, hey! That’s where our money goes!
The rich keep getting more and more! It’s something that we should deplore.
Citizens should know about the money that Ben’s passing out.
Bernanke, it just ain’t fair. Main Street oughta get a share.
Hey, hey! That’s where our money goes!
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Sanders Op-Ed: Sunshine Week
Source: The Caledonian-Record (March 16, 2011)
Articles & Blog Posts by Matt Taibbi
The Great American Bubble Machine
From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression — and they’re about to do it again
(This article appeared in the July 9, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone.)
Wall Street’s Big Win
Finance reform won’t stop the high-risk gambling that wrecked the economy — and Republicans aren’t the only ones to blame
(This article appeared in the August 19, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone.)
Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail?
Financial crooks brought down the world’s economy — but the feds are doing more to protect them than to prosecute them
(This article appeared in the March 3, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone.)
Looting Main Street
How the nation’s biggest banks are ripping off American cities with the same predatory deals that brought down Greece
(This article appeared in the April 15, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone.)
Jefferson County, Alabama: Screwed By Wall Street, Still Paying
(TAIBBLOG—April 7, 2011)
Why is the Fed Bailing Out Qaddafi?
(TAIBBLOG—April 1, 2011)
Edited to add:
The S.E.C.’s Revolving Door: From Wall Street Lawyers to Wall Street Watchdogs (TAIBBLOG—March 30, 2011)