WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve will be required to identify the names of banks that could have collapsed if not for the central bank's emergency lending, a federal appeals court said Friday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled that the Fed needs to disclose documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by Bloomberg L.P. and other news organizations.

The Federal Reserve is considering its options after the decision.

"We are reviewing the decision and considering our options for reconsideration or appeal," said Fed spokeswoman Barbara Hagenbaugh.

The Federal Reserve may seek to have the court re-hear their case or consider appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.

The news organizations filed a suit in 2008 seeking to have the central bank publicly release documents containing data about the names of the banks that have participated in its lending programs in the midst of the financial crisis.

Bloomberg also sought information about the amount of funds lent to banks during the financial crisis.

The appeals case comes after the Southern District Court of New York ruled in favor of Bloomberg in August and ordered the Fed to disclose the names of borrowers. However, the Fed filed for a stay and expedited consideration, which the appeals court granted last year.

Fox News Networks LLC and Dow Jones & Co. made similar public record requests for information about Fed lending, which were rejected. News Corp. NWS, +1.52% owns Fox News and MarketWatch, the publisher of this report.

The lawsuit comes as legislation requiring a broad congressional auditing of how the Federal Reserve carries out its monetary policy -- including how much it has lent and will lend to specific banks as part of its bank bailout program -- is under consideration on Capitol Hill.

In December, the House approved a provision as part of sweeping bank reform legislation that would require such an audit. The measure was introduced by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who has been seeking more information about the Fed's operations for years.

The Fed opposes the lawsuit, arguing it would weaken the bank's independence and hamper the central bank's ability to protect the financial system. Banks would be reticent to borrow from the central bank if they know their names would be released because of the stigma associated with borrowing.