"analyzed throughly"
Remember we're talking about folks who thought it was a great deal to bundle & sell garbage mortgages. No doubt they "analyzed" that situation as well. And we know where that got them (and us).
apples and oranges. anyway, you should be pointing your finger at the entities who fraudulently originated the garbage assets and sold them to wall street, not the broker-dealers who bundled and traded them.Originally Posted by lofter1
"analyzed throughly"
Remember we're talking about folks who thought it was a great deal to bundle & sell garbage mortgages. No doubt they "analyzed" that situation as well. And we know where that got them (and us).
But they were supposedly experts in matters of finance. They should have known what they were buying.
If those guys in the big firms can be so easily duped then what kind of expertise can they claim in matters of real estate?
the loan agreements were fraudulent - contained false info re the borrowers. only in hindsight does one now say the banks should've investigated the borrower, lender and property - which would make the whole mbs market unworkable anyhow - this paper is backed by pools of huge amounts of loans. take away the mbs market and you're looking at 10+% mortgage rates again. it's not the banks' place to prevent fraudulent lending practices - that responsility falls on the regulators.
Bear’s Cayne Apologizes, but He Hears Only Silence
Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A former Bear Stearns employee added his own message to an unflattering portrait of the investment bank’s chairman, James E. Cayne, painted by Geoffrey Raymond and displayed in front of Bear’s headquarters in New York.
By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: May 30, 2008
On a day that marked the end of Bear Stearns as an independent investment bank, the firm’s shareholders voted in support of its controversial, government-backed merger with JP Morgan.
But the outcome, which was announced at a 10:00 meeting this morning at Bear’s headquarters at 383 Madison Avenue, reflected less an embrace of the deal by bruised investors than the stark reality that the $10 price was the best option available.
More than two months after the terms were struck in mid-March, and with more than 7,000 employees expected to lose their jobs, Bear Stearns, which opened in 1923, is now fully incorporated within J.P. Morgan.
The tally in support of the merger is expected to be more than 80 percent and the deal will officially close on Friday.
The somber tone of Thursday’s gathering stood in stark contrast to the angry sentiments of Bear employees and shareholders in mid-March, most of whom felt that that Bear, known as the scrappiest firm on Wall Street, could have survived if it had been given earlier access to credit lines from the Federal Reserve.
James E. Cayne, Bear’s chairman who lost more than $900 million in the firm’s collapse, presided over the meeting at the firm’s auditorium, which was filled with more than 400 employees. Sitting next to him was Alan Schwartz, Bear’s chief executive.
Mr. Cayne, who joined the firm in 1969, had been conspicuously absent in March when the chief executive of JP Morgan James Dimon presided over a stormy meeting in the same venue. Mr. Cayne’s presence now was a powerful reminder to the Bear Stearns community that the fight was over.
“I have no anger, only regret,” he said, as he departed from the script of his prepared remarks. “14,000 families were affected. I personally apologize. I feel an enormous amount of pain and management feels an enormous amount of pain.”
The audience of employees, directors and investors, many of who he has known for over 30 years and who lost large parts of their savings and fortunes, received his remarks in a dead silence.
“That which does not kill you makes you stronger,” he added. “And at this point we are all like Hercules.”
Again, his words were met with silence.
“J.P. Morgan is a great organization,” he concluded. “There are better days ahead.”
And with that, the meeting, which lasted no more than 10 minutes, was over and Bear’s employees headed quietly off to work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/bu...l?ref=business
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Has the name of this building changed?
Oh yeah - less than a week after the deal closed.
what is it now? JP Morgan Chase- 383 Madison?
Walked by this week, and saw JP Morgan on a sign at the base, but it was at night so I didn't pay much attention.
No, just JP Morgan - stencilling is on the glass that's currently behind the shed. JP Morgan is the legacy investment bank/broker-dealer.
This week, in late day spring light ...
383 Madison
Love that last photo.
The cab drivers on Madison weren't too crazy about it.
But I stood there until I got it
^ Risking life and limb for that perfect shot. As a photographer, you've come a long way. lofter.
Always liked the building. A great little building which is very simple, and importantly is not all glass.
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