Fed now required to release TARP and other borrower names (Bloomberg)

Well, mayor of NYC Mike Bloomberg has proven what control of the media will give you.  He's finally succeeded in getting the Freedom of Information Act to apply to the Federal Reserve, as mentioned in the article here.

There are always two sides of things, but the anonymity of borrowers at the discount window (which all of these programs are, essentially) has never been questioned before.  The real trouble with this ruling is that banks will be reluctant, going forward, to go to the Fed for temporary liquidity because it may appear to make them look weak to the market.

Of course it's ridiculous to assume that discount borrowing implies weakness, but that's likely how it will be taken.

In the short term, we'll see prices of these banks TANK after the announcement.  Maybe that's what Bloomberg is really after -- a good capital crisis which will be much more widespread than last year's hit to the top ten.

The Latest:  The Fed is appealing this ruling.  We'll wait and see if they have to release names tomorrow (probably not).