The US Federal Reserve on Friday named the banks that borrowed at its discount window during the third quarter of 2010 but the period showed limited activity and none of the biggest Wall Street firms had turned to the emergency facility for help.
The disclosure of the once closely guarded information was forced on the Fed by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Some of the decline in borrowing may have reflected banks steering clear of the discount window because they knew their visit would be published, albeit with a two-year lag.
Lending activity was very modest compared to the peaks reached during the 2007-09 financial crisis, when banks borrowed billions of dollars to stay afloat. The 360 borrowers were mostly small institutions and were widely spread across the country from Anchorage in Alaska down to Winter Park in Florida.
The central bank had strenuously opposed naming banks which accessed the window, arguing it could put them off using it in times of future stress out of fear it might make them look weak, which in turn could weaken the financial system.
The Fed last year had to disclose details on discount window lending during the financial crisis after media organizations sued for access, but Friday’s release was the first quarterly batch of data mandated by Dodd-Frank.
