There's nothing new in the way the Fed treats disclosure. The reason they've never disclosed the identity of the parties they lend to is to avoid rumors of financial trouble that could lead to a run on the institution that receives the loan.

What IS new is the amount of money that they're throwing at current problems and the level of risk taken. Some of it would likely be considered reckless by prior standards.

It's a real question if transparency would be a good thing so folks have oversight - or if the oversight would lead to pure panic and trigger a further collapse.

Frank