WASHINGTON - December 1, 2010 - The Federal Reserved released documents Wednesday identifying the recipients of $3.3 trillion in emergency aid provided at the height of the financial crisis.

"Two European megabanks - Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse - were the largest beneficiaries of the Fed's purchase of mortgage-backed securities," The Huffington Post's Shahien Nasiripour reported.

More than $290 billion worth of mortgage securities were sold to Deutsche Bank, a German lender. Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank, got more than $287 billion in mortgage bonds.

"The mortgage purchase program has come under withering criticism by economists and financial experts who believe the Fed's initiative has unnecessarily inflated the housing market, and prevented the cleansing that pretty much all experts believe is necessary for a full economic rebound," Nasiripour wrote.

"In addition, the Fed disclosed details of 'swap' arrangements with foreign central banks," the Associated Press reported. "These occurred when the Fed traded much-in-demand dollars for foreign currencies to try to ease credit. The foreign central banks, in turn, lent the dollars to banks in their countries that needed dollar funding. The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan were involved in the exchanges."