In Crisis, Federal Reserve Bailed Out Failing Banks

During the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve got a lot of flack for handing out big bailouts to major banks like Citibank and JP Morgan Chase, which were deemed “too big to fail.” But it turns out that many more banks received funds through  the Federal Reserve Bank’s so-called “discount window” policy, including investment banks and foreign banks. The names of those banks were released last week, after the Supreme Court ruled in February that under the Freedom of Information Act, the Fed had to make the names and amounts known. Louise Story of  The New York Times  says that although only healthy banks are supposed to receive short-term loans, dozens of beneficiaries in 2008 and 2009 have subsequently collapsed. The news comes at a time when the government is mired in a budget debate. Takeaway Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillch talks about the potential cuts.