Bear Stearns Bailed Out by Fed, JPMorgan

The Federal Reserve responded swiftly to pleas from Bear Stearns that its coffers had "significantly deteriorated" within a 24-hour period. Central bankers backed an arrangement to bolster the company, and stood ready to provide extra resources to combat a credit crisis that now threatens one of America's biggest financial institutions.

Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, made its fortune dealing in opaque mortgage-backed securities a strategy that might be its undoing amid the worst housing slump in a quarter century. The bank has racked up $2.75 billion in write-downs since last year, and faced a possible collapse without some kind of lifeline.

Bear Stearns lost half of its value within 30 minutes of the market open, before clawing back a bit to be down 41 percent, or $23.51, at $33.49 by midday. The news rattled investors, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average down about 150 points.

JPMorgan Chase, the nation's third-largest bank, agreed to pump more money into Bear Stearns to keep it in business, but did not divulge how much it was spending. Top executives from both companies were in talks, and were even considering the outright sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan, according to a person familiar with the talks who was not authorized to speak on the record.

Bear Stearns said in a statement that it is working with JPMorgan Chase to find permanent strategic alternatives to alleviate their cash problems.

JPMorgan Chase which has been hurt far less by the mortgage morass than other investment banks is providing secured funding to Bear Stearns for 28 days, backstopped by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Bear Stearns and the Fed approached JPMorgan Chase about the financing and a potential deal, according to the person familiar with the talks.

Rumors have persisted throughout the week that Bear Stearns was facing major cash flow problems, but the investment bank's chief executive initially denied those rumors.

"Bear Stearns has been the subject of a multitude of market rumors regarding our liquidity," the bank's president and chief executive, Alan Schwartz, said in a statement Friday. "Amidst this market chatter, our liquidity position in the last 24 hours had significantly deteriorated."

In a memo sent to employees, Schwartz said the temporary financing would allow the company to "get back to business as usual."