Wall Street Law Blog

Fed says paper profit on Maiden Lane I - so why not sell?

Seriously. We mean it.  If the old Bear Stearns mortgage assets are truly profitable, then sell the whole portfolio, book the profit, and be done with it.  

Or... Maybe explain to the American taxpayers why the Fed wouldn't take $29 billion in bailout money, plus profits, off the table.

The Financial Times has the details.  

FT.com / Companies / Financial Services - Fed reports paper profit on Bear and AIG bail-outs

www.ft.com

Raises hope of repayment to US public

 

NY Fed Discloses Maiden Lane Assets in Extreme detail...

This just in - 

See the attached report for a detailed rundown of assets the Fed took from BSC to induce JP Morgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns. 

According to data disclosed this week by the New York Fed, the original value of the Bear Stearns Portfolio (Maiden Lane I) was $75 billion.  When Bear transferred the portfolio to the Fed in 2008, the assets were "valued" at $30 billion.  

Sounds to us like Bear Stearns really was doing well (readers - insert sarcasm here).  Guess those nasty rumor mongers were to blame for the collapse of Bear Stearns after all (again, sarcasm; more intense this time).  

Download Maiden Lane 1 holdings from BSC

Wall Street Law Blog will post the other Maiden Lane holdings tomorrow.