The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Federal Reserve‘s request for a stay Tuesday morning, delaying the release of public records containing information about banks’ lending activities during the financial crisis.

The Fed requested the emergency stay last week as it fights a lawsuit brought by Bloomberg News. The news and information company sued the Fed in November 2008 after the Fed withheld requested records stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Bloomberg reporters requested information about the sale of Bear Stearns, as well as detailed accounts of which financial institutions borrowed money from the Fed’s discount window and other lending facilities between April and May 2008.

The Southern District Court of New York ruled in favor of Bloomberg in August and ordered the Fed to disclose the withheld records. The Fed requested and was granted a temporary stay from the district court, but had to file for a second when the case moved to the circuit court level.

In its original request for a stay, the Fed argued that disclosing lending information would undermine confidence in the banks borrowing through its programs.

“Public disclosure is likely to cause substantial competitive injury to these financial institutions including the loss of public confidence in the institution, runs on banks, and possible failure of some institutions,” Associate General Counsel Yvonne Mizusawa wrote.

Bloomberg filed a brief opposing the Fed’s request for a stay on Monday.