Bloomberg: Fed won’t say to whom it’s lent $2 trillion in public funds

Bloomberg News reports that the Federal Reserve Bank is “refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.” Reporters Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry and Alison Fitzgerald add that Bloomberg has tried to obtain the information through a Freedom of Information Act request and a federal lawsuit filed last week.

But mum continues to be the word, not only from the Fed but from the Obama transition team:

Federal Reserve spokeswoman Michelle Smith declined to comment on the loans or the Bloomberg lawsuit. Treasury spokeswoman Michele Davis didn’t respond to a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment.

President-elect Barack Obama’s economic adviser, Jason Furman, also didn’t respond to an e-mail and a phone call seeking comment from Obama. In a Sept. 22 campaign speech, Obama promised to “make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people’s business.”