Fed Opens Books, Revealing European Megabanks Were Biggest Beneficiaries (Details you should see)

Huffingtonpost.com ^ | 12/1/2010 | Marcus Baram

[FromLori]

NEW YORK -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday reluctantly opened the books on its monumental campaign to save the financial system in the midst of the recent crisis, revealing how it distributed some $3.3 trillion in relief.

The data revealed that the Fed's aid was scattered much more widely than previously understood. Two European megabanks -- Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse -- were the largest beneficiaries of the Fed's purchase of mortgage-backed securities. The Fed's dollars also flowed to major American companies that are not financial players, including McDonald's and Harley-Davidson, through unsecured short-term loans.

The measure, initiated in Jan. 2009 to stimulate the flow of credit and keep household borrowing costs low, led the nation's central bank to purchase more than $1.1 trillion in mortgages packaged into the form of securities. The mortgage bonds are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the twin mortgage giants now owned by taxpayers.

Deutsche Bank, a German lender, has sold the Fed more than $290 billion worth of mortgage securities, Fed data through July shows. Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank, sold the Fed more than $287 billion in mortgage bonds.

The data had previously been secret. It was released Wednesday per the recently-enacted law overhauling the federal financial regulation. The Fed, ferociously backed by the Obama administration, fought lawmakers' desire for full disclosure throughout the financial reform debate.

The mortgage purchase program has come under withering criticism by economists and financial experts who believe the Fed's initiative has unnecessarily inflated the housing market, and prevented the cleansing that pretty much all experts believe is necessary for a full economic rebound. However, the program has also been heavily praised for preventing an Armegedon-type situation in which mortgage costs could have skyrocketed, collapsing the housing market and leading to even more foreclosures.

Data released Wednesday shows which Wall Street firms have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Fed's bond buying program. The fact that foreign lenders benefited the most is sure to irk lawmakers.

The Fed effectively telegraphed its intentions to the Street before buying the bonds. Legendary money manager Bill Gross, who oversees more than $1.2 trillion at Pacific Investment Management Co. said last month during a television interview that part of his success over the last 18 months was due to buying securities in front of the Fed, and selling them to the Fed at a premium, allowing him to profit handsomely. Gross runs PIMCO's $252.2 billion Total Return Fund.

Morgan Stanley sold the Fed more than $205 billion in mortgage securities from January 2009 to July 2010, while it's much bigger rival, Goldman Sachs, sold $159 billion. Citigroup, the nation's third-largest bank by assets, sold the Fed nearly $185 billion in mortgage bonds. Merrill Lynch/Bank of America sold about $174 billion.

It's not clear how much these firms profited by engaging in the kind of activity that allowed Gross to profit so well, known as "front running." However, it's abundantly clear that they did turn a profit.

JPMorgan Chase, the nation's second-largest bank by assets, sold the Fed about $153 billion worth of mortgage securities.

Other foreign banks with extensive Wall Street operations also profited from the program.

Barclays, the British firm that took over failed investment bank Lehman Brothers, sold about $123 billion in mortgage bonds. UBS, a Swiss lender, sold about $94 billion. BNP Paribas, a French bank, sold about $67 billion.

[La Lydia]

Factual reinforcement for the school of thought that the Obama administration has set out, deliberately, to destroy the economy of our country and bring us to our knees so they can impose their socialist replacement.

[PGR88]

The FED is the main prop under the Progressive State.
- No FEd means no bailouts for the politically-connected.
- No FED means no taxation through money-printing.
- No FED means no bubble blowing in an attempt to revive a broken system.
- No FED means workers wages and savings are not eaten up through inflation and fake money.
- No FED means that the Government can not run $Trillions in deficits. The FED is the only thing that prevents disclipine from being forced profligate Governments.

These documents are proof enough that the unelected FED has become our Government.

[WVKayaker]

The only good thing I see to agree with, is supporting employment at MickeyD's and Harley Davidson through short term LOANS. The banks are sucking us dry, but at least we can ride a Harley to get a Happy Meal!

[hosepipe]

Bernie Abramoff eat yer heart out..
YOU TOO... Willie Sutton..

[SE Mom]

ping- more info

[mojito]

One of the first orders of business for the new congress will be to call for an audit of the Fed. This is a rogue agency that needs to be brought to heel.

I'm waiting to see who will be the first person in congress to call for Bernanke’s resignation.

[bareford101]

THIS BEGAN IN JANUARY, 2009! There is no doubt about what the obamanation of America is about!

[9YearLurker]

So what was the actual value, all hassle and time involved, of those mortgage securities? Fifty cents on the dollar? If so, we’d be talking about $150 billion gifts to each of multiple major European banks.

If to ward off claims of fraud against Fannie and Freddie I’d think other, domestic investors could have filed such claims by now. If the American taxpayer is now responsible to make whole any losses or failure of any large bank worldwide, we might as well just shut down as a country. We’re done for.

[ClearCase_guy]

Years from now, people will look back at us and say, "What idiots! Didn't they see? How did they let this happen?"

[ClearCase_guy]

If the American taxpayer is now responsible to make whole any losses or failure of any large bank worldwide, we might as well just shut down as a country.

We defend the entire world with our military, and we make good any business losses, worldwide.

And we think that we are an evil country and everyone is justified in hating us.

We are insane.

[wolfman23601]

I don’t know that Obama and Timmay were the masterminds behind this plot. Paulson and Bernanke stole our money before Obama was even elected. There is something much bigger than the Obama administration behind all this. Obama is just another one of their useful idiots.

They took almost $1 trillion of the taxpayers money on the pretense that the economy would collapse and the world would end if they didn’t get our money. Now it turns out the money went to Europe. Why isn’t anyone being hanged for treason? Hell, nobody is even in prison.

[SueRae]

We suspected as much when the Fed secretly disbursed those funds...when the people asked where the money went they act as if WE don’t have a need to know.

What if anything takes the place of the Federal Reserve? Do we need it? Is it redundant to the Treasury? I’ll admit I am a complete greenhorn in this area but I’ll be damned if you allow that kind of money to be thrown around by an institution with zero oversight.

[FromLori]

Congressman Ron Paul on the Criminal Federal Reserve

This is pretty brilliant. Try to set aside a few minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wn8Cuy0F32o#!

And this is absolute nonsense. Does Lacker think we’re not paying attention. The Fed has fought transparency in the courts and in Congress every step of the way, as detailed below.

Fed’s Lacker Says Data Release Is ‘Good Step’ to Transparency

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-01/fed-s-lacker-says-data-release-is-good-step-to-transparency.html

Jeffrey doesn’t mention that the Fed had to be sued into submission or that they have redacted a lot of information and have still not released all of it.

Bloomberg Sues Fed to Force Disclosure of Collateral

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKr.oY2YKc2g

[kcvl]

I’m wondering that today! We don’t need to wait years.

Anyone in DC give a rip about this?! We shall see.

[9YearLurker]

We are also doomed.

[FromLori]

Oh without a doubt the banks had been donating to obama for years even when he was a junior senator.

Barack’s Wall Street Problem is Now America’s

http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/09/21/baracks-wall-street-problem-is-now-americas/

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Donates Serious Cash to Democrats

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/07/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-donat.html

etc.

[DannyTN]

I'm also reading that most of the foreign loans have been paid back with interest. So what's the problem?

I can think of some potential problems, but none that worry me:

• IF IF IF the loans to Foreign banks weren't really paid back but a GM type shuffle has occurred, where the US has issued other loans to replace the emergency ones, then the risk would still be outstanding. But we don't know that. There are allegedly another $900 billion of undisclosed loans.
• IF IF IF inflation during the period the loans were outstanding exceeded the interest, then it's a net loss to us. But even if that occurred that loss needs to be compared to the loss that would have occurred if world banking collapsed. Additional unemployment benefits, welfare, loss of tax revenues, loss of economic income, etc.
• It was a risk with our money, that appears to have worked. Of course we don't know for certain what would have happened if the FED had done nothing, but I believe it would have been very very bad.
• Would more/earlier disclosure been better or caused panic among customers of the firms receiving aid. Probably would have caused panic.
• Would more controls over the money and more discussion of the fact that controls existed and who all is watching, without disclosing the recipients helped public confidence? Absolutely.

[6SJ7]

Legendary money manager Bill Gross, who oversees more than $1.2 trillion at Pacific Investment Management Co. said last month during a television interview that part of his success over the last 18 months was due to buying securities in front of the Fed, and selling them to the Fed at a premium,

What a cozy arrangement.

[FromLori]

This might help answer that...

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?blog=Market-Ticker&page=3