Fed takes pass on appeal over disclosing Fed loans

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve says it won't ask the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision ordering the central bank to provide information on companies that had received Fed loans during the 2008 financial crisis.

Instead, the Fed is leaving it to others to wage this legal battle. The Clearing House Association LLC, a group of the biggest commercial banks, filed an appeal Tuesday to the Supreme Court. The ruling was made earlier this year by a panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

The Fed doesn't plan to reveal the identities of financial companies that drew Fed loans while the litigation is pending. "We will await a determination from the courts and will comply fully with any final order," says spokesman David Skidmore.